


Ausbrecher (Formally Effugere)

by atlas_is_bad_news, EmberWolves69



Series: Amicitia [2]
Category: Homestuck
Genre: Caliginous Romance | Kismesis, Eating Disorders, F/F, F/M, Flushed Romance | Matesprits, Homelessness, Light BDSM, M/M, Mpreg, Multi, Pale Romance | Moirallegiance, Pretty much any kind of pailing we could think of, Rape, References to Depression, Sexual Slavery, Slavery, Smut, Walking in on sexy times
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-12-31
Updated: 2018-06-19
Packaged: 2019-02-24 15:23:20
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death, Rape/Non-Con, Underage
Chapters: 20
Words: 92,390
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13216596
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/atlas_is_bad_news/pseuds/atlas_is_bad_news, https://archiveofourown.org/users/EmberWolves69/pseuds/EmberWolves69
Summary: Ausbrecher ~ Runaways/EscapeeMutants are highly sought after to be the slaves of the wealthy highbloods. One more than others. So what happens when a certain favorite of two of Alternia's most vicious highbloods escapes and manages to find comfort and a moirail in his worst hour? Will the two be able to survive being hunted down, tortured, and worse, or will they give in, accept their fate, and surrender to the will of the highbloods? Sollux and Karkat, along with a host of familiar faces,and some new ones, will have to do whatever they can to escape the highbloods who won't go down without a fight.This is a role play done mainly over Mxrp.com and so it was all written in that style and will remain like that. This will also be updated periodically. If you notice any spelling mistakes or sentences that don't make sense, feel free to raise the issue so that we can take a look and sort it as soon as possible (We won't be offended). As you can see this work is rather long, and editing is normally only done once so it's easy to miss things. This story is the second of two books, the first being Amicitia https://archiveofourown.org/series/874737Ember - CGAtlas - TA





	1. Reunions.

TA: "Holy shit" Sollux pulled Karkat close and wrapped his arms around him to protect him.  
CG: Karkat huddled close to him. "What if that was Gamzee?" he asked really worried about what was going on.  
TA: Sollux made a frightened noise and then slowly let go of him "I'm just going to look, I'll only be a few seconds, I promise"  
CG: Karkat nodded. "Just be careful." he said and moved farther back into the cart.  
TA: He nodded "Stay here" then got up and moved to the end of the cart.  
CG: When he looked out Sollux would see Gamzee wrestling with another troll who was about his size.  
TA: "G-Gamzee…?" Sollux called out.  
CG: Karkat came forward when he heard that and when he saw it too he cussed. "We need someone to stop the cart and to help him."  
TA: "Karkat, stay here" He unravelled the bandage around his hand and began to climb around the side of the cart carefully.  
CG: Karkat watched him. "Sollux you are hurt you shouldn’t be doing that." he said leaning out, so he could talk to him.  
TA: He clung to the side and ignored him, shuffling along to the front.  
CG: Karkat bit his lip worriedly as he watched Sollux.  
TA: He got to the front and stumbled onto the platform, waiting for a moment to catch his breath when the cart went over another bump in the road.  
CG: Karkat let a startled sound as he almost fell out of the cart when they hit the bump but was able to catch himself and pull himself back in.  
TA: Sollux steadied himself and reached for the reigns for the hoofbeast. The troll fighting with Gamzee swung a punch to his face.  
CG: Gamzee grunted as he was forced from the other troll who stood up and started towards the cart before Gamzee tackled him again.  
TA: He was pushed to the ground and turned around to kick Gamzee. Sollux managed to stop the hoofbeast and he turned back around to Karkat. "You alright?" he called back.  
CG: "Yeah just startled." He said as he started to get out of the cart just in case the hoofbeast tried to run off again. "You should help Gamzee." he said since he knew that he couldn’t do it at the moment.  
TA: He nodded and jogged back, holding Karkat's arm on the way past "If anything happens, make as much noise as you can, and I'll come straight away"  
CG: Karkat nodded. "I will. Just go help him." he said, and he leaned back against the cart a little to steady himself.  
TA: Sollux ran back to where Gamzee was, preparing his psiioniics as he saw a rugged looking troll struggling underneath his matesprit.  
CG: Gamzee growled at the troll under him and attempted to bite him on more than one occasion.  
TA: He tried to kick him again, hissing in pain as one of his amber wings was bent into the ground.  
CG: Karkat tried to see what was going on but as it was all he could see was flying limbs and not much else.  
TA: Sollux held his hands out but couldn’t get his aim right as the two were moving too much, he didn’t want to risk hitting Gamzee again.  
CG: Gamzee was thrown back once again. His nose was bleeding bad and he had plenty of other cuts from the other troll's claws.  
TA: Rufioh growled at him and stood up, he was injured too, his wing twitching and unusable.  
CG: Karkat blinked a couple times. "GAMZEE STOP!" He said rushing forward as he saw Gamzee getting ready to lunge again.  
TA: "KARKAT!" Sollux ran to him and held him back, knowing how vulnerable he was. Rufioh held his arms up in a fighting stance, preparing himself for Gamzee's hit.  
CG: Gamzee of course didn’t listen to Karkat as he swung at the other troll. "SOLLUX STOP THEM! ZAP THEM BOTH IF YOU FUCKING HAVE TO!" Karkat said as he struggled to move past him.  
TA: "I CAN'T, KARKAT I CAN'T HURT HIM AGAIN!" Sollux held him tightly. Rufioh winced as Gamzee punched him but responded by trying to push him down again by his shoulders.  
CG: "SOLLUX JUST DO WHAT I FUCKING SAY YOU DON’T HAVE TO HURT HIM JUST GET HIS ATTENTION!" he said still struggling to get past.  
TA: Sollux held Karkat back and took a deep breath, his hands were shaking but he was able to fire at the ground in front of the two.  
CG: Gamzee, startled, jumped back and away from the other troll before glancing over to Sollux. "What the motherfuck was that for?"  
TA: Rufioh jumped back too, Sollux looked to Gamzee, a little frightened "S-sorry, but you need to stop this!"  
CG: Karkat moved forward a bit. "He isn’t the enemy Gamzee." he said since he actually remembered seeing Rufioh before. But of course, this just made Gamzee confused.  
TA: Rufioh smirked and looked to Gamzee "Yeah...I tried to tell you that. But you went all psycho on me"  
CG: Karkat walked closer and pulled Sollux with him. "Gamzee never was good at listening. And if you had any brains you would have chosen a different way to introduce yourself than jumping on the cart that was holding his matesprit and me."  
TA: Sollux followed and Rufioh laughed a little "You dogs were going so fast, I didn't really have any choice...and uh...those two are in a quadrant?" He gestured to Sollux and Gamzee.  
CG: Karkat shrugged. "Yeah and I am this ones moirail." he said pointing to Sollux. "As for their relationship it’s not exactly something that I can explain at all."  
TA: "An unusual pair to say the least, and here I was thinking the creep was keeping you two cos he had a thing for little lowblood mutants..."  
CG: "No that would be his ancestor and the asshole sea dweller that worked with him." he said with a shrug. "As it is Gamzee isn’t like him."  
TA: He hummed, sounding unsure. "Well...there was still no need to be so rough with me" He told Gamzee.  
CG: "You were the one who seemed to all up and be attacking us." Gamzee growled.  
TA: "I just wanted to talk..." he groaned and tried to straighten his wing out.  
CG: "Then you fucking say something and not jump randomly out of nowhere."  
CG: Gamzee snapped at the other.  
TA: "What was I supposed to do? You were speeding away and I didn't really feel like bein' run over...y'know?"  
CG: "I don’t make a habit of running over people and the hoofbeasts wouldn’t hit ya anyway."  
TA: "How was I supposed to know? You're a new face to me..." He held out his hand and grinned "Rufioh Nitram, pleasure to meet you...I guess"  
CG: At first Gamzee wasn’t going to take the hand but Karkat moved forward and slapped him hard which made him grumble and take the other's hand. "Gamzee Makara." he grumbled.  
TA: Sollux pulled Karkat back and hissed at him for slapping Gamzee, Rufioh just laughed a little and shook his hand,  
CG: Karkat hissed back a little. "He deserved it." He said softly so only Sollux would hear it.  
TA: "Really? He's just been beaten up, the last thing we need right now is you two fighting” he whispered back. Rufioh let go of Gamzee's hand gently.  
CG: "He will be fine." He said and then turned to Rufioh. "So, what is it that you wanted?"  
TA: "Well, uh...there's this friend of mine, and I haven't seen him in a while...I've been to his hive but he's never there..." He looked away "It's been a couple weeks now...I keep searchin' though...I was gonna ask if you had seen him, but then I was jumped like a damn animal" He glared at Gamzee.  
CG: Karkat frowned. "Who are you talking about?" Karkat asked curiously. He wasn’t sure who it was, but he knew that it wouldn’t be good.  
TA: He smiled "You'd know him if you saw him...Tall, blueblood, goggles, long hair..." Rufioh reminisced "Kindest troll I've ever met" Sollux's face dropped as he remembered the troll who used him as bait to try and get his bees. Then he remembered his body after Gamzee saw to him.  
CG: Karkat thought for a moment. "I don’t think I know him. Where did you see him last and what was he doing?" Karkat asked so he could at least try to help a bit.  
TA: He thought about it "Like I said...it was a few weeks ago, he said he was gonna get me a gift for my wriggling day anniversary...Somethin' I'd really like"  
CG: Karkat shook his head. "Maybe he had to go far and is just running late." Karkat said with a shrug since he actually didn’t know about anything that had happened.  
TA: Rufioh shrugged "I hope you're right, my boy" Sollux looked to Gamzee with a worried expression.  
CG: Gamzee moved closer to Sollux and wrapped his arms around him lovingly. "I’m sure it will be fine. Anyway, I know that you have had some contact with the Kankri before. Any idea where he is currently?"  
TA: Sollux nuzzled into his arms, Rufioh narrowed his eyes at them both. "I don't think I'm supposed to talk about that..."  
CG: Karkat sighed and moved back towards the cart. "Fine then come this way with me and they won’t hear anything."  
TA: He followed "Sorry kid, I don't really trust your highblood friend...he seems like a nice guy, but I thought he was gonna cull me back there" he laughed nervously. "And your moirail is pretty close with him..."  
CG: Karkat nodded. "I won’t lie Gamzee might have but only because he thought that Sollux was in danger but as for Sollux...Even though he is really flushed for him Sollux has proven that he would leave Gamzee if he thought that he would do more harm than good."  
TA: He smirked "Maybe, I mean...it's not my place to go asking a lotta stuff 'bout their quadrants" he shrugged and smiled "So what did you want to know?"  
CG: "I am actually looking for Kankri right now. We have a few problems and he might at least be able to help us stay hidden for a while." he said looking at Rufioh.  
TA: He listened and nodded "Well as you can imagine, he's keeping somewhat of a low profile at the moment...but I'm sure he'd be happy enough to see you!" he grinned "He's been trying to locate as many red-bloods as possible actually..."  
CG: "Well I am sure that we all know there won’t be too many of us out there." he said as he kept walking forward. "Will you tell me where he is then?"  
TA: He scratched the back of his head "Only if you feel like doin somethin for me in return?"  
CG: Karkat raised an eyebrow at that. "Depends on what it is." he said as he stopped walking and turned to look back at the other.  
TA: He chuckled "You could take me with you?"  
CG: Karkat sighed. "You know that I would say yes. But I am not the only one here. We also have to get permission from those two as well."  
TA: "Okay...just bear in mind that I know the way to Kankri" he smiled.  
CG: "I know that. Just wait here and I will go talk to them." He said as he turned to walk back to them.  
TA: He nodded and waited. Sollux was still with Gamzee when Karkat returned.  
CG: "He knows where the troll we are looking for is. But..." he hesitated not sure how they would react to this.  
TA: "What is it?" Sollux asked, leaning back against Gamzee.  
CG: "He wants to come with us." Karkat said mostly looking at Sollux since he knew that if Sollux agreed then he could get Gamzee to agree as well.  
TA: "Hmm" Sollux looked at Rufioh in the distance, he had only just met him after all.  
CG: "He is a good troll and an excellent fighter I have seen him take on full grown highbloods before and win." He said which was true, he just left how the how’s on that.  
TA: "I guess it wouldn't hurt to have him with us" He said hesitantly and looked up at Gamzee, unsure of his reaction.  
CG: Gamzee didn’t look all that happy. "I don’t want him riding in back with you two where I can’t all up and see what he is doin."  
TA: Sollux looked worried "You really think he'd do something?"  
CG: "I don’t like him something about him aint right." He said glaring over to where Rufioh was. "That is because he is a lowblood with strong mind powers."  
TA: He raised an eyebrow at him "Gamzee, I'm a lowblood with strong mind powers."  
CG: "He isn’t like you." Gamzee said. "He is right there Sollux. Rufioh could easily create an army with nothing more than a simple thought. "  
TA: "That could either be really good for us or really shitty. I'm okay with him coming along, but if he's as dangerous as you say then I think it’s a good idea to have someone watching him as much as possible"  
CG: "He won’t do anything to us Sol. I know that much for a fact. The only reason he was fighting was because Gamzee was the one who hit first and because he thought that Gamzee was like most highbloods." Karkat said  
TA: "I just want to be careful, I don't know what I'd do if you two losers got hurt" he said with a nervous chuckle.  
CG: "Trust me Sol he won’t hurt us." Karkat said still not really talking to Gamzee at all.  
TA: He nodded "Okay, he can come"  
CG: Karkat nodded and went back over to Rufioh.  
TA: Rufioh smiled when he saw him "Good news, bad news?"  
CG: "You can come. Though Gamzee doesn’t really trust you still."  
TA: He shrugged "I can see why, he cares about you both, and I did hurt him." his wing fluttered "But you've got my word that I won't start any fights with him" he winked.  
CG: "Yeah I will hold you to that one big time." he said "So now tell me where to find Kankri."  
TA: "It’s a little 'off road'...how good is the cart?"  
CG: "It will hold up and if not then we got the hoofbeasts that we can ride."  
TA: "Okay, well..." He moved a little and looked around to get his bearings before gesturing in a direction "About 25 miles that way, then through the woods."  
CG: Karkat looked and nodded. "Alright you tell Gamzee and lead him since Sollux and I stay in the cart."  
TA: He nodded and smiled, striding over to Gamzee and Sollux.  
CG: Karkat followed over. "Rufioh is going to lead the way Gamzee don’t start any fights."  
TA: He gave a small wave "You two sure you're okay in the back?" he ruffled Sollux's hair.  
CG: Karkat nodded. "So long as you don’t fight and spook the hoofbeasts we will be fine."  
TA: "I'm sure we will get along fine" He grinned at Gamzee and chuckled softly.  
CG: Gamzee glared a bit but turned with Sollux in his arms and headed back to the cart.  
TA: Sollux walked with him and continued to nuzzle lovingly against him. Rufioh pushed his hands into his pockets and shrugged, walking to the cart.  
CG: Karkat sighed and followed after them all. He knew that this was going to be a very long ride.  
TA: Rufioh hopped up to the front of the cart so that he could navigate.  
CG: Gamzee helped Karkat and Sollux into the cart before he went around and sat up front, so he could drive.  
TA: Sollux flopped himself down on the blanket pile and sighed.  
CG: Karkat went and sat down next to him. "This isn’t going to be a fun ride."  
TA: "With those two in the front; you might have to stop me from jumping out this cart." he said, straight faced.  
CG: "Just relax. I am sure that Rufioh at least won’t throw the first punch." he said as he leaned back against the wall.  
TA: He rolled his eyes and leaned on his shoulder. "How do you know him anyways?"  
CG: "I met him a long time ago. Not the best meeting in the world but he did help me out."  
TA: "If he used you I swear to fuck I will climb out and push him in front of the hoof beasts right now."  
CG: Karkat held up his hands in a calming manner. "No, he didn’t. The only time he ever really touched me was when he was flying off with me in his arms, so we could get away from some highbloods and when he hit me upside the head for being stupid."  
TA: He calmed down "You are stupid."  
CG: "I know. If I wasn’t then I probably would have left Gamzee home so that I didn’t have to deal with all the lowbloods freaking out about him."  
TA: He smirked "We wouldn’t be here without him, we'd still be in the Grand Highblood's hive or in Dualscar's"  
CG: "I know and that, and the fact that you are completely horns over heals for him is the reason why I brought him along."  
TA: He blushed a little "He makes me happy, you both do"  
CG: "I know and that’s why I don’t say anything about him coming with us or some of the things that he does."  
TA: "He's a trouble maker, that's for sure"  
CG: "Yep. And so, if Rufioh at times."  
TA: "Shit, those two really aren't gonna get along..."  
CG: "Yeah I know. But at the same time, it might just help the two of them out."  
TA: "By being able to find an equal match?"  
CG: "Maybe or just causing trouble together."  
TA: "Only of Gamzee stops sulking"  
CG: "Yeah but I am sure that you can help him with that part." he said with a teasing voice.  
TA: He smirked "I'll do my best to keep his spirit’s up"  
CG: Karkat nodded. "I am sure you will."  
TA: He smiled and hugged Karkat’s arm. Meanwhile, Rufioh pointed Gamzee to the left "This way...you're gonna miss the turn off...quick!"  
CG: Gamzee quickly turned the hoofbeasts so that they turned right down where they needed to.  
TA: He rolled his eyes "Hope you don't do everything as roughly as you drive" he murmured, starting to get annoyed by his recklessness.  
CG: "You are the one who fucking told me that we needed to turn as we were reaching the fucking turn in the road!" Gamzee growled looking over at him.  
TA: "I said five minutes ago to take the next turn off...not my fault you didn't listen!"  
CG: "You didn’t fucking tell me what turn!!" He snapped back and Karkat groaned as he heard them from inside the cart.  
TA: "I did! You just didn't listen...again!"  
CG: "I did fucking listen!" Karkat rolled his eyes "Sollux how do you feel about zapping them to shut them up?"  
TA: "I 100% support the idea" he smiled  
CG: Karkat motioned for him to do so. "Aim well then."  
TA: He took the challenge "Gamzee is gonna be so pissed off" Sollux smiled a little then rested his palms over a crack in the dividing wood.  
CG: "I think they both will be but who knows they might just team up against us." he said and chuckled at that thought as he watched Sollux.  
TA: He smiled wider and pushed his psiioniics so that Gamzee and Rufioh would both feel a small shock. He winced a little as his power twinged in his injured hand.  
CG: Gamzee jumped in surprise at the small shock and actually caused the hoofbeasts to go faster which knocked Karkat off balance and onto his back but he was still laughing at it all.  
TA: Rufioh yelped and slammed his fist against the wood between them. Sollux giggled and landed beside Karkat.  
CG: Karkat laughed as he turned to lean against Sollux a bit. "MOTHERFUCKING MESSIAH!" Gamzee growled as he slowed the hoofbeasts.  
TA: Sollux grinned until he heard Gamzee, he still laughed a little but couldn't help being scared.  
CG: Karkat just laughed harder as he heard that.  
TA: Sollux started laughing again after hearing Karkat.  
CG: Karkat finally sat up. "Well that seems to have stopped their fighting."  
TA: "Yeah with each other, maybe not with us" he smirked. Rufioh shivered and smiled "You've certainly got a little feisty one back there Gamzee"  
CG: Gamzee nodded. "Yeah and how much do you want to bet that it was Karbro that all up and put him up to that."  
TA: He laughed "what are we gonna do with those two" he shook his head.  
CG: "Not much we can really do Solbro is hurt and Karbro is pregnant."  
TA: His eyes widened, and he turned to him "Pregnant?"  
CG: Gamzee nodded. "Yeah."  
TA: Rufioh looked to him, "whoa...never thought he'd be the type"  
CG: "Wasn’t really his choice." Gamzee said looking down as he said it and continued to steer the hoofbeasts down the path that they were taking.  
TA: He nodded slowly "Still, you'd think he'd talk it through with his mate or something...he's quite young to be carrying"  
CG: "Karbro has never had a mate...Or at least none before any of the stuff happened to him."  
TA: He looked confused "You mean it was a one-night stand or something? ...he's seems too innocent to have a proper kissmesis..."  
CG: Gamzee gave a small laugh at that one. "Trust me he is not too innocent for a kissmesis. And no, he aint the type to all up and have a one-night stand. And I probably shouldn’t be the one to all up and tell ya what happened."  
TA: Rufioh bit his lip "Last time I saw him, he was just a little kid. Highbloods managed to scare the horns off him..." He smirked "...Now he's all grown up, with a little wriggler of his own...I didn't mean to pry..." He said softly.  
CG: "You don’t have to all up an worry. It is only natural to be curious about such things. But it’s probably best that he be the one to tell what all up and happened to him instead of me." he said and clicked at the hoofbeasts to get them to speed up a bit.  
TA: He nodded again "Once he meets Kankri, everything will be okay" he smiled wide.  
CG: "I hope so..." Gamzee said but his voice obviously said that he was worried about it.  
TA: "You'll see, Kankri will sort everything out" he said happily, "Take a right turn here..."  
CG: Gamzee gave a small nod and turned. "I sure hope so." he said glancing back at the wood behind him as if he would be able to see into the back of the cart.  
TA: He noticed him looking "He's got a good moirail too...heh...thick as thieves, those two...by the looks of things"  
CG: "That’s for sure. You should see how much they all up and fight to stay with each other and to keep the other from getting hurt, even if it means getting hurt themselves, which only seems to upset the other from what I have seen. But they keep doing it."  
TA: He smirked "That's good though, it means they care about each other...uhh, sounds like y'all have been through a lotta harsh stuff?"  
CG: "Compared to those to I have had a perfect life." Gamzee said with a laugh in his tone. "Hell, I am sure that even you have compared to them."  
TA: He gave a half-hearted laugh "I dunno...things can't have been easy for them...mutants end up bein' somewhat of a commodity these days..." He said, pronouncing the word 'mutant' in a hushed whisper.  
CG: Gamzee nodded. "That is very true. Especially when they are all up and related to someone who the Empress still hates after death."  
TA: He rolled his eyes "The EMPRESS. Don't even get me started...good lookin' chick but...whoa...talk about an attitude problem"  
CG: Gamzee burst out laughing loudly at that. "You aint got no idea about that one brother."  
TA: "She waltzes 'round like she owns every inch of ground...uh...I mean I guess she does...but there's no need to flaunt it!"  
CG: "Better she does that than some of the other shit I have known her to do." he said shaking his head. "Be glad that is all ya have to deal with."  
TA: He raised an eyebrow "Got horror stories to tell?"  
CG: "Plenty, though if you want more ya are gonna have to talk to Karbro."  
TA: "He's met her?!" He grinned  
CG: "More than that. He has even bitten her before."  
TA: He laughed "Nah, you're pulling my wing 'ere..."  
CG: "Not even close. Left her a scar that stayed for a while. Gone now but it was there."  
TA: "Damn..." He covered his mouth "Sorry..." Then smiled "He really has grown up...heh..."  
CG: Gamzee nodded. "Yeah though he really shouldn’t have had to. He should just now be starting to fully get into quadrants and what not."  
TA: He shrugged "Well he's got you're little yellowblood for company...and who knows, he might meet someone"  
CG: 'If he can get over all that Grand Highblood and Dualscar have done to him.' Gamzee thought as he nodded. "Yeah who knows."  
TA: "Or maybe...uh...well, quadrants aren't for everyone...some trolls prefer to fly solo" he leaned forward and pointed "You're gonna want to drive between those two trees, see the opening there...into the woods?"  
CG: Gamzee nodded and turned to go to where the other had told him. "Yeah I know there are but Karbro just never seemed like one."  
TA: Rufioh nodded and jolted a little as the cart moved off road. "He'll be alright"  
CG: "I hope so." he said as he kept driving. He was worried about the two that were riding in the cart, mainly Sollux though.  
TA: Rufioh continued to give directions here and there. Sollux gripped Karkat's arm as the cart rattled through the woods.  
CG: Karkat groaned at all the movement and sat them both down. He then leaned against Sollux. "How long is this going to last?"  
TA: He put his arm around him "You know as much as I do"  
CG: Karkat sighed and closed his eyes. "I hope it smooths out soon."  
TA: "The guy you're looking for is hardly going to be easy to find, no doubt he's hiding, especially since Gamzee is with us"  
CG: "I know that’s why I figured that it would be a good idea to have Rufioh with us because he wouldn’t lead someone to the troll that we are looking for just because he was threatened.  
TA: He nodded "Yeah, he seems to know what he's doing. And they're not fighting anymore"  
CG: "Well that saves me a headache from that at least." he said groaning again.  
TA: "Feeling any better?" He rubbed his arm a little  
CG: "I will when this bumping rocking movement stops." he said as he nuzzled into the other.  
TA: He held him close and thought about his words carefully before speaking "How's the grub?"  
CG: "Alright I think." he said trying to ignore the movement that was obviously very uncomfortable for him.  
TA: He sighed a little and bundled the few blankets together beside him "Try lying down, it might make it a little less think-pan shaking"  
CG: Karkat nodded and moved onto the blankets pulling Sollux with him so he could use the other troll as a pillow.  
TA: He moved so that Karkat's head was lying on Sollux's stomach.  
CG: Karkat smiled the blankets helped a bit. "That’s a bit better." he said and just listened to the sound of Sollux's heartbeat and his breathing from where his ear rested on his stomach.  
TA: Sollux lay down and ran his fingers through Karkat's soft hair.  
CG: Karkat soon started to purr softly and then started to slowly fall back asleep.  
TA: Sollux kept his breathing steady so not to disturb his moirail and continued to gently pet him.  
CG: Karkat was soon fast asleep only shifting every now and then to find a more comfortable position.  
TA: Sollux soon fell asleep too and stayed mostly still.


	2. Bull Intentions

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning for emotional abuse and manipulation

CG: "How much farther until we get there?" Gamzee asked Rufioh.  
TA: He grinned "We are almost there....but we are gonna have to drive over that stream"  
CG: Gamzee looked over at it. "I don’t think I trust takin this thing over it with Solbro and Karbro in the back of it."  
TA: He shrugged "If you're too scared, we can just walk"  
CG: "I aint scared of it motherfucker. I just don’t want those two in the cart just in case somethin all up and happens."  
TA: Rufioh rolled his eyes "Fine....you steer, I'll take them over"  
CG: Gamzee nodded and steered the hoofbeasts up to the edge of the stream and then stopped. "Let’s get them over."  
TA: Rufioh hopped off the cart and stretched a little, fluttering his wings and trying to ignore the pain it caused from the squabble with Gamzee.  
CG: Gamzee slid down and headed to the back. He sighed when he saw the two sleeping. "I swear they would sleep through an attack if it happened."  
TA: He joined him and leaned his elbow on Gamzee's shoulder "Awe, the little suckers are kinda cute like that"  
CG: "We are going to have to wake them. And if you value your limbs never wake Karbro first." he said as he moved to climb into the cart.  
TA: He smirked and climbed into the cart, moving over to Sollux.  
CG: Gamzee gently shook Sollux. "Solbro."  
TA: Sollux just groaned a bit and turned his head.  
CG: Gamzee sighed and kissed his cheek. "Time to wake up Solbro you can go back to sleep in just a few minutes."  
TA: Sollux smiled as he felt the kiss and opened his eyes to look at him. "Are we there?"  
CG: "Almost but we have to go over a stream and I don’t want you two in the cart while we do."  
TA: He nodded and looked down at Karkat. Rufioh was standing over him with a grin "KARKAAAAT~" he shouted.  
CG: Karkat bolted straight up his right hand moving as if he were going to grab something. He blinked and looked around looking confused.  
TA: "Time to get up!" Rufioh sniggered.  
CG: Karkat growled and threw the closest thing to him, which was a pillow, at Rufioh. "You fucking ass! I told never to wake me up like that unless those assholes were coming back to try and cull me."  
TA: He laughed and tossed the pillow away "Sorry dog, just wanted to make sure you heard me...."  
CG: Karkat rolled his eyes. "Next time you do that I am cutting your bulge off." he grumbled as he looked around to see where they were.  
TA: Rufioh snickered and moved to sit beside him "Good luck with that, kid"  
CG: Karkat flipped him off and Gamzee rolled his eyes. "Alright now you two are flying over the water with Rufioh."  
TA: Sollux gave him a confused look and sat up "Why?"  
CG: "Because if anything happens and the cart tips over I don’t want you two in here."  
TA: "But you'll be in the cart if it tips over" Sollux pointed out.  
CG: "I can swim, and I am taller." Gamzee pointed out back. "And besides I won’t be inside the cart."  
TA: "Alright....but be careful. And we aren't made of glass Gamzee"  
CG: "I will be fine Solbro." he said and kissed him. "Just make sure that you zap him if he reaches a bit too low."  
TA: He kissed back "I won't hesitate" he gave a small smile and stood up, hauling Karkat up too.  
CG: Gamzee chuckled and watched them. Karkat groaned a bit when he had to get up but finally got to his feet and leaned against Sollux a bit.  
TA: Sollux supported him by wrapping his arm around Karkat's waist. Rufioh hopped up and fluttered his wings then reached both hands out to tussle Karkat and Sollux's hair.  
CG: Karkat swatted Rufioh's hand away a bit. "I’m not a wriggler anymore Rufioh."  
TA: Sollux just stood there and gave Rufioh a disproving look. The Bronze blood just chuckled "Sorry, it's just been a while, huh....you’ve grown....heh"  
CG: "Of course I have grown. It has been about four sweeps or more since you last saw me." he said as he moved closer to the edge, so they could get down.  
TA: "Still as feisty as ever I see...." he muttered and scooped Karkat up, taking him down off the edge of the cart onto the floor  
CG: Karkat let the other take him and once he was on the ground he stood to the side so Sollux could get down.  
TA: Rufioh then picked up Sollux and carefully brought him down.  
CG: Karkat looked at the moving water. "Sollux you go first."  
TA: "Oh gee, thanks." Sollux rolled his eyes and turned to Rufioh who then picked him up again. The small yellowblood linked his arms around Rufioh’s neck and the taller male sat him on his hip, holding him close.  
CG: "Well that way you can help keep me up when I get over there and while Gamzee gets the cart across /With/ Rufioh's help." he said looking directly at Rufioh.  
TA: Rufioh huffed and nodded, then walked to the edge of the water as he flapped his wings. The pair slowly got high enough in the air before Rufioh started to fly over "Hold tight"  
CG: Karkat watched the two of them hoping that Rufioh would be strong enough to carry another troll. He knew that Sollux wasn’t very heavy, but he didn’t know the extent of what Rufioh could do.  
TA: Rufioh had to shift Sollux around a little to hold him more securely, his wing was still in pain from the fight with Gamzee, but he did his best not to show it. It didn’t take long for him to land back down onto the other side and let Sollux go.  
CG: Karkat let out a small sigh of relief when he saw the two of them land safely.  
TA: Sollux wobbled a bit as he landed and then steadied himself. Rufioh then made his way back, his wing twinging.  
CG: Karkat watched Rufioh and looked a bit worried. When he got back Karkat looked at him seriously. "How is your wing?"  
TA: Rufioh smiled "It's fine....It's fine, don’t worry about it" he rubbed the back of his neck before holding his arms out to Karkat.  
CG: "Don’t push yourself too much." He said as he moved forward so that Rufioh could take him over.  
TA: Rufioh lifted him up the same way he did with Sollux. "It's fine, I'm used to it" He started to carry him over.  
CG: Karkat nodded and held onto Rufioh tightly as they went.  
TA: Rufioh started off okay but about half way he grunted in pain and dropped a little, gripping onto Karkat tightly.  
CG: Karkat gripped a bit tighter. "There is a large flat rock just there go land." He demanded to Rufioh.  
TA: Rufioh nodded, a little ashamed and landed on the rock "S-Sorry...."  
CG: "You fought with Gamzee I didn’t expect you to have an easy time with this."  
TA: "....It was damaged before we fought anyway." he said quietly.  
CG: Karkat frowned. "What happened?"  
TA: He smirked "My....boss...." he chose his words carefully "Didn’t really like my attitude...."  
CG: Karkat raised an eyebrow at that. "Your boss? And who might this //boss// be?"  
TA: "Mindfang...." he shuddered at the name.  
CG: "Mindfang?" Karkat thought for a moment. "I think I have heard of her."  
TA: "She's a bitch." Rufioh stated bluntly.  
CG: "If what I have heard about her is true then I can agree." he said feeling bad about what Rufioh had been through.  
TA: He nodded. "She use-....I mean....uh....she kept me around for the manual labour side of things at first...."  
CG: Karkat clenched his jaw a bit. "I’m sorry to hear that. I know it can be bad."  
TA: "She messed with my think pan....made me screw up my work and then she'd punish me for it...." he shook his head "sorry, you probably don’t want to hear my whining" he chuckled weakly.  
CG: "I’m always willing to listen to it. Sure, I can’t do anything a moirail would, but I can still listen." he said being honest.  
TA: He nodded slowly. “....she made me feel like I was flushed for her....using her powers I mean. Had me flying round like a fool for her, worked me to the bone until I couldn’t lift or move anything she needed me to because I was too worn out....she got really mad, called me useless and broken and.... worse things. She started taking me to these highblood parties....let’s just say, the trolls there aren't safe to be around for any length of time....I tried to fight back, and that’s when she ripped my wing." he was talking seriously about this for the first time, staring at the water in the stream.  
CG: Karkat sighed at what he heard. "Think you can get me the rest of the way across. You won’t have to fly back over but once we get moving again I think we should talk."  
TA: He nodded and started to fly over, it wasn’t far, so he was able to make it. He gently let Karkat down onto the grass and stayed silent.  
CG: Karkat moved back to the water and called over to Gamzee to get him to start over. In all it took about fifteen minutes for the cart to get over without tipping at all.  
TA: Sollux was relieved to see Gamzee make it across okay.  
CG: Gamzee stopped the hoofbeasts once everything was out of the water. "Let’s give them a short break real quick and then we can continue on."  
TA: Rufioh nodded and plonked himself down on the grass.  
CG: Karkat sat and leaned against a tree while Gamzee worked on getting some buckets of water for the hoofbeasts/  
TA: Sollux wandered over to Gamzee and helped with the water, nearly falling into the stream at one point.  
CG: Gamzee caught Sollux before he could fall in and chuckled. "Careful Solbro."  
TA: Sollux made a face and stood back a little from the edge. "Don't worry"  
CG: "I’m not. But you will all up and be uncomfortable having to travel in wet clothes."  
TA: "I'm sure I would be able to suffer through it"  
CG: Gamzee smiled and kissed him. "You shouldn’t have to."  
TA: His expression softened "I guess you'll just have to stay close then, in case my careless ass falls in"  
CG: Gamzee smiled. "Alright but if you fall in it may be a while until you get out again." Gamzee said teasingly as he kissed him again.  
TA: He kissed back and then shook his head "Gamzee Makara, leaving your matesprit in a cold stream on purpose, tut tut" he teased back.  
CG: Gamzee smirked and pulled Sollux into a hug before whispering into his ear. "It will be much warmer with my bulge up inside you." he said teasingly.  
TA: Sollux shivered and smiled, wrapping his arms around Gamzee's back "Is that an offer?"  
CG: "It just might be." Gamzee said and kissed him deeply.  
TA: He kissed back eagerly and caressed his cheek.  
CG: Gamzee smiled before pulling back and quickly going off to bring the bucket of water to the hoofbeasts.  
TA: Sollux stood there for a moment before turning and growling at Gamzee.  
CG: Gamzee chuckled at the sound and set the bucket down for the hoofbeast.  
TA: Sollux went over and lifted the bucket, struggling with the weight slightly. He held it aimed at Gamzee with a grin on his face "You'd be uncomfortable having to travel in wet clothes" he mocked.  
CG: Gamzee frowned and turned to see what Sollux was talking about. "What was that Solbro?"  
TA: Sollux sloshed a little of the water at him, still leaving enough in the bucket.  
CG: Gamzee jumped back but was still hit was some. "What was that for?" He asked looking down at his wet clothes. Over under the tree Karkat was laughing at the two of them.  
TA: Sollux chuckled "For being such a damn tease" Rufioh moved over to sit near Karkat "It's weird, seeing a lowblood get on so well with a highblood"  
CG: "Yeah but then Gamzee has always been strange like that. But Sollux is even stranger when it comes to it."  
TA: "How so? he seems pretty chill" Rufioh commented as Sollux threatened Gamzee with the water.  
CG: "It’s not something that can really be explained. But you will see it as you spend more and more time with him."  
TA: "Well he managed to get you as a moirail....so he can’t be that bad" Rufioh crossed his legs "How did you two meet anyways?"  
CG: "Well he found me by a creek as I was running and convinced me to let him help me and things kinda just went from there."  
TA: "Running? No offence but....you don’t strike me as the sporty type"  
CG: "Wrong type of running. Running away not for fun."  
TA: He turned to him "Running away? Is that what you wanted to talk about...."  
CG: "In part but again let’s save that for when we are on the road again."  
TA: He nodded "When you meet Kankri, he'll sort everything out....he did for me....so he's bound to for you too"  
CG: "I believe you." He said and leaned back before looking back over at Gamzee and Sollux. "They are very lucky to have each other."  
TA: Rufioh smirked "Yeah, but they are lucky to have you too kid....I know what you're like"  
CG: "You know what I was like when I was young....Sadly there is a lot that has changed since then." he said looking down at his lap sadly.  
TA: He laid his hand on Karkat's shoulder gently "You're still a good troll....just because you've done bad things....or bad things have happened....it doesn't change who you really are, nothing can" he spoke softly.  
CG: "Thanks but I’m not so sure that that is true." he said and shrugged. "We better go help those two before they do something stupid. Or get going." he said and slowly started to push himself up.  
TA: Rufioh lifted Karkat up before he could stand himself and moved him so that he would be sitting on his shoulders.  
CG: Karkat rolled his eyes and looked down at Rufioh. "I can walk you know."  
TA: He looked up "I know that....I’m just saving you the bother"  
CG: Karkat rolled his eyes. "You two ready to leave yet?!" Karkat called to the other two.  
TA: Sollux had put the water down by then after being splashed a little himself "Yeah I think so!" he called back  
CG: Karkat nodded. "Sollux ride up front with Gamzee for a bit." He said as they got closer which caused Gamzee to stand up fully and frown.  
TA: He gave him a confused look "Alright, have you gotten bored of me already?" he joked.  
CG: "Well you do sleep a lot." Karkat teased back. "Who knows maybe I can at least play some card games with Rufioh here."  
TA: Rufioh smiled and Sollux just rolled his eyes "Okay okay, but you get the honours of the blame if I fall off the front"  
CG: "Only if Gamzee winds up going down with you. If not, then I will be all his fault." Karkat said "That aint all up and fair Karbro." Gamzee said though he was chuckling a bit.  
TA: "I'll just have to take him down with me then" he teased and looked up at Gamzee.  
CG: Gamzee laughed. "Gee Thanks Solbro." He said laughing.  
TA: He smiled and held his hand, walking to the front of the cart as Rufioh headed to the back with Karkat  
CG: Karkat chuckled a bit as they went towards the back. Gamzee helped Sollux up into the front of the cart.  
TA: Rufioh climbed up into the cart and laid Karkat down gently. Sollux scrambled up into the front and looked out.  
CG: Gamzee got up beside Sollux and once everything was closed and they were ready to go he got the hoofbeasts moving. Karkat shifted to a comfortable spot and patted the place next to him.  
TA: Rufioh sat down slowly and rubbed the back of his neck "Uh....About what I said earlier....I don’t normally open up to folk about that....mind not tellin anyone?"  
CG: "Trust me. I would be the last person to go spreading things like that around." Karkat said and then sighed. "Tell me how much has Gamzee told you about what has happened when it comes to what happened since the last time you say me?"  
TA: He thought about it "He didn’t say much, other than you've been around highbloods a lot."  
CG: Karkat chuckled. "Well that’s a good way of putting it." He said then leaned his head back and looked over at Rufioh.” Do you want to know what happened?"  
TA: He sat with his legs crossed and nodded "I'm all ears, kid"  
CG: "You remember the day that we last saw each other all that time ago? The day I got in that fight with that blueblood?"  
TA: "Yeah, that guy was really annoyed at me afterwards...."  
CG: "I’m sure." He said and chuckled a bit. "Well that day someone saw my blood and reported it."  
TA: He sat with his elbow on his knee and his chin propped up on his fist "Typical...." he hissed in anger....  
CG: Karkat nodded. "Yeah but instead of telling someone who would send drones after me they told Slave traders."  
TA: "oh man, that’s pretty rough...." he looked down  
CG: He nodded. "About four days after the fight a big group of them came to my hive to take me away. As you can imagine Crabdad didn’t just let them take me."  
TA: He nodded "I haven’t seen him around"  
CG: "That’s because they culled him....slowly....And forced me to watch." he said looking down.  
TA: He held Karkat's shoulder again "I’m sorry to hear that....if this is painful for you to tell....I get it"  
CG: "It’s fine. I dealt with it all a long time ago.  
TA: "Losing your lusus must be hard though"  
CG: "Even harder when they burn the hive down after. I had nowhere to go, nowhere to really turn once I escaped."  
TA: "And that’s why you were running?"  
CG: "You try being the slave of the Orphaner Dualscar and The Grand Highblood  
TA: Rufioh didn’t say anything, he didn’t know what to say. He just listened and stayed quiet for once.  
CG: "It wasn’t that bad at first. I stayed at the Orphaner's hive since he was the one who bought me but then somewhere he read about how trolls with my blood can actually carry grubs."  
TA: Realization dawned on Rufioh and he quickly dragged Karkat into a tight hug. "Gamzee said you are pregnant-no..." he muttered, more to himself than Karkat "Th-They didn’t....no.... Karkat you're too young"  
CG: Karkat wrapped his arms around him like he used to do when he was little. "I didn’t think that it had worked. I didn’t know how any of it worked so I thought that everything would be fine after I ran away." He said with a shaky breath. "But they found us and took the two of us back and that is when I learned that it did work that they had succeeded."  
TA: Rufioh rocked him gently and patted his back "You're out now, you’re safe....I shouldn’t have left you...." he whispered.  
CG: "It’s not your fault. Things would have been worse for you if you had stayed." he said clinging to the other tightly.  
TA: "But I could have fought for you or got you out of there"  
CG: "At what price Rufioh? You would have been culled or been forced into a life worse than both of ours combined."  
TA: "But you would have been okay" he stroked his hair carefully  
CG: "And I will be ok right now." he said nuzzling into him a little.  
TA: "I'm here for you, we all are...." he nuzzled back  
CG: Karkat nodded. "I know. You are."  
TA: Rufioh nodded "Sollux and Gamzee care for you an awful lot....and I do too"  
CG: "I know, and I am grateful for that. I don’t think I would have been able to make it if I didn’t have anyone." he said his breath slowly becoming even again.  
TA: "You don't have to be brave and strong all the time....relying on others doesn't make you weak, so don’t be afraid"  
CG: "I remember you saying that a lot when I was young. Hell, I remember you yelling about that to Crabdad one time as well when he kept trying to throw you out." Karkat said with a small laugh at the memory  
TA: He smirked "Yeah....he really didn't like me. I'm glad you remember though"  
CG: "Well you have to admit that you were a bit strange to him. And older."  
TA: "I wasn't strange! And I'm only a few sweeps older...." He said defensively  
CG: "Come on think of it within the hemospectrum thing. The first time he saw you, you were fighting with that highblood. Not many lowbloods actually do that."  
TA: "Yes well I guess I'm a little different, I've got a few words to say about Highbloods. That’s for sure....but I probably shouldn't"  
CG: "Say whatever you like. And at least half of the time I might just agree with you on it." He said, "And you are also a lot taller than me since I am just naturally short so Crabdad actually thought that you were way older than me when he first met you."  
TA: He chuckled "Was your Lusus afraid you were gonna run off with some older handsome stranger....heh." he smiled "And uh, nah....I better not....'Number one Matesprit' might hear me" he said, gesturing to the dividing wall between them and Gamzee.  
CG: "Trust me. I have ranted to him about how terrible highbloods are before and about half the time he just laughs at it and the other half he agrees with me." He said, "And I am sure that he was more worried about you trying to eat me or something."  
TA: "I dunno. I’m still wary around him....I just can’t figure him out" he narrowed his eyes "Eat you? Nah man....yellowbloods are more my taste" he joked.  
CG: Karkat laughed at that and then playfully hit him. "Now that might actually get Gamzee to attack you if he heard something like that."  
TA: He laughed "Now that’s another thing I've got to be wary of....keeping on the good side of your moirail, otherwise if I don't I'm in a lot of trouble"  
CG: "Maybe but then again it isn’t hard to stay on his good side. And you are talking to the person who gets on the bad side of everyone he meets within five seconds." He said with a shrug.  
TA: "Well, you're on my good side. Did he always like you....?"  
CG: "Who? Sollux?" He asked tilting his head a little.  
TA: "Yeah....if you can think that far back....you two seem to have been together for ages...." He moved Karkat so that he was in a more comfortable position on his lap.  
CG: "Would you be surprised if I said that we have only really known each other for maybe around a month or so?" He asked and was glad when the other moved him since he had been a bit uncomfortable before and had been about ready to shift anyway.  
TA: He looked shocked "What? Oh kid, I've known trolls all my life and me and them don’t get on as well as you two do"  
CG: "Yeah and trust me it was strange for me at first because of everything that had happened. Hell, if he had been a highblood I am sure that I would have fought any help that he tried to give."  
TA: "It's a good thing you let him help you then" he smiled  
CG: Karkat nodded. "Yeah but at the same time I am sad that I did because he was captured and had a rough few weeks because he helped me."  
TA: "That just shows how much he cares about you, that he was willing to go through all that for you…and come out alive"  
CG: Karkat nodded. "Yeah and I am glad that he is still with me. Its nice to know that he will always have my back. Hell he was even willing to leave Gamzee when we planned on leaving."  
TA: He chuckled "Woah, thats dedication…I hope you’ve thanked him"  
CG: "I have thanked him a lot for a lot more than that too. And as you can see I said that Gamzee could come. I actually thought that it would be a good idea to have him around."  
TA: He shrugged "He's strong and he can fight too...good choice"  
CG: "And he believes in the same thing that we do. He doesn’t like how a lot of the hemospectrum works."  
TA: "Easy for him to say when he's up there at the top" he murmured  
CG: "Yeah I know that. But I have seen him defend a lot of lowbloods before. "  
TA: He bit his lip "Karkat....I don't trust him"  
CG: Karkat looked up at him for a moment. "Why not?" he asked not trying to challenge the other but more curious about it.  
TA: He petted Karkat's hair, not wanting to fight either "Maybe you can't see it because you've been with him this whole time but....it feels to me like he might be usin you"  
CG: "Using me?" he asked looking down wondering if Rufioh could really be right about something like that.  
TA: "Think about it, he's related to the grand Highblood...and you're the easiest way to get to Kankri. The highbloods don't want Kankri's plans to work because it puts them at risk....maybe he befriended you so that you would trust him and he could persuade you more....and maybe he's using Sollux to stay close to you...I mean, the lil guy is completely flushed for him but he's vulnerable, he'll fall for anyone who shows him compassion when he' s in a mess like this...and you're not exactly going to leave your moirail behind Karkat. He needs you to get to Kankri...it's all just too suspicious to me" He said softly.  
CG: Karkat thought about what Rufioh said and realized just how right he could be. Of course he could be wrong as well but Karkat just didn’t know anymore and that worried him. "Do you really think that is what is happening?"  
TA: "I can’t be sure...but you have to admit that it all makes sense..."  
CG: Karkat sighed and nodded. "Yeah I know it does. And I guess that I just didn’t want to think about it like that."  
TA: Rufioh sighed "I'm sorry dog....but he's grown up in a life where he's been told what to do when he sees a lowblood...I fought him...he knows how to cull someone. Do you really think he'd pass up an opportunity like this?"  
CG: "I honestly don’t know. I don’t want it to be like that for Sollux but at the same time I am afraid to actually say that it isn’t like that."  
TA: "He's using you both...if he stays with Sollux then it means he's got a tie to you...and the perks of having him around to pail whenever he wants....you trust him and he's using it against you...." Rufioh reinforced.  
CG: Karkat bit his lip and laid his head on Rufioh's shoulder closing his eyes. This really wasn’t what he wanted to hear at all.  
TA: He wrapped his arm around him, knowing he was crossing the line by comforting him considering Karkat already had a moirail. "...We can leave y'know"  
CG: Karkat lifted his head at the other's words. "What?" he asked his eyes actually filling with tears a little from it all.  
TA: "We can leave" He repeated and looked at him, he cupped his cheek when he saw him looking upset "We can leave them behind and I'll take you to Kankri...You'll be away from him for good."  
CG: Karkat leaned into the hand a bit before looking towards the wall where Sollux would most likely be. "But.... Sollux......"  
TA: "He's happy where he is now. If we take him with us...Gamzee will just follow" Rufioh turned Karkat's head gently so that he wasn’t looking to Sollux.  
CG: Karkat looked up at him and bit his lip. He was confused and it probably wasn’t helped by the fact that his emotions were out of wack because he was pregnant. "I....I don’t know what to do anymore." he said before burying his face in Rufioh's shirt.  
TA: Rufioh cradled him and combed his hand through Karkat's hair "Shh... Shhh... It's alright"  
CG: Karkat let the tears of frustration flow down his cheeks. He trusted Rufioh a lot and he wanted to stay with Sollux and of course he wanted Sollux to be happy. "I don’t know Rufioh. I don’t." he kept mumbling over and over into the shirt.  
TA: He continued to comfort him and held him close, thinking to himself before choosing his words carefully "Karkat...you said you felt bad because of what Sollux had to go through because of you? ....if we leave....he gets to stay with Gamzee and be safe" Rufioh was trying everything he could to convince him, he knew by this point that he was manipulating him but he didn’t know any different.  
CG: Karkat heard those words and was completely silent for a minute. 'He is right. Sollux loves Gamzee and will be fine as long as he is with him. And it wouldn’t be right if I told him to leave him just because Gamzee might....' he cut off his thought before he could go any farther and then nodded into Rufioh's chest softly. "Alright."


	3. Boy Scouts

TA: Rufioh smiled. "It's better this way kid, Kankri will keep us safe.... And Gamzee will keep Sollux safe so long as you are alive" he said, not really knowing if Gamzee would actually do that.  
CG: Karkat nodded his face still buried in Rufioh's shirt. "Lets just go before we stop again." he said softly.  
TA: Rufioh nodded and stood up with Karkat in his arms "Hold on tight okay?"  
CG: Karkat nodded and held on as best he could without hurting or choking Rufioh.  
TA: Rufioh supported his little weight and walked to the end of the cart "Ready?"  
CG: Karkat nodded and lifted his head looking towards where Sollux was one last time before turning his head away again.  
TA: Rufioh held him like he did when the redblood was little and opened the back of the cart. He took a deep breath and flapped his wings then hovered slightly, due to the speed of the cart he was able to leave it rather easily, he didn’t even look back as he flew in another direction. Sollux leaned his head on Gamzee's shoulder and smiled, blissfully unaware of his moirail leaving him behind his back.  
CG: Karkat closed his eyes and just held onto the other older troll as he flew off and almost instantly Karkat felt a little bad that he was leaving Sollux but again he trusted Rufioh and believed that he was right with what he had been saying. Gamzee kissed the top of Sollux's head happily. "If you start to get hungry or something just let me know."  
TA: He nodded "Hm, I could do with something small"  
CG: Gamzee nodded. "Alright looks like there is a good flat spot up a head. We can stop there and eat before we continue on."  
TA: "Okay, Karkats will probably want something too, no doubt"  
CG: Gamzee chuckled a bit and nodded. "Im sure he will." he said and kissed Sollux again and a couple minutes later he pulled the hoofbeasts to a stop.  
TA: Sollux waited until they had stopped before standing up and attempting to get off the front himself.  
CG: Gamzee got down and just helped Sollux down since he didn’t want him to fall or anything.  
TA: Sollux held onto him and smiled, walking around to the back.  
CG: Gamzee followed right after him his pace a bit lazy.  
TA: Sollux frowned a little when he saw the back already opened and immediately started to worry "Karkat?!" He yelled and tried to heave himself up, pain shooting through him.  
CG: Gamzee heard the other and then instantly moved forward to look. "Where did he go?" he asked looking around and trying to spot him in case he got out to hide as some kind of joke.  
TA: Sollux scrambled up and started lifting up all the blankets, but he found nothing "Gamzee, he's not here" his voice full of anger and worry.  
CG: Gamzee growled a little. "Where the fuck could he have gone?" he asked as he moved back to Sollux.  
TA: "I don't know?! Rufioh is gone too" he said  
CG: "He must have taken him then. But where did he take him?"  
TA: His breath quickened "To Kankri I guess? But why would he leave us?" He held his head and panted "Why would he leave me?" he looked to Gamzee  
CG: Gamzee pulled Sollux into a hug. "He would never just leave you Solbro. You know that. Rufioh must have done something."  
TA: He gripped onto his shirt "He wouldn't hurt him...would he?"  
CG: "I don’t know. I would hope not considering that they seemed to have a history."  
TA: "We need to find him" he gazed up.  
CG: Gamzee nodded. "Yeah and we will find him. I promise."  
TA: "Where do we even start..." he muttered and looked around.  
CG: "Maybe we should go back the way we came. We might find something...." he paused as he got a thought. "Maybe you can find him like you did the bees."  
TA: "I dunno...We can try" Sollux reached and held his hand.  
CG: Gamzee took his hand. "Here lay down on the blankets and we can try to find him."  
TA: He nodded and lay down "You can try too, right?"  
CG: "I will try but you have a better bond with him than I do." He said and moved to sit down next to Sollux.  
TA: He let go of his hand "I don't want to hurt you again"  
CG: "I will be fine. Just hold my hand if you think it will help."  
TA: He nodded and laid back, closing his eyes...  
CG: Gamzee ran a gently hand through his hair and then shifted so that Sollux could get to work.  
TA: He tried to steady his breathing and focus on Karkat.  
CG: Gamzee watched him and then closed his eyes and tried to help as much as he could. Karkat looked around a little as they flew. "How far is it to get to Kankri?"  
TA: Rufioh held him and looked around "About ten minutes, you doing okay?"  
CG: Karkat nodded. "Just never had much of a head for heights that don’t have a solid ground under my feet."  
TA: He rubbed circles on his back "I promise we'll be there soon"  
CG: Karkat nodded and nuzzled into him a bit. "How about you wake me when we get there?"  
TA: He smiled down at him "Sure thing" then continued to fly to where they needed to be.  
CG: Karkat smiled and then closed his eyes and of course fell asleep almost instantly.  
TA: Rufioh held him tightly and did his best to get through the pain in his wing.  
CG: Karkat stayed how he was and didn’t even move during the flight.  
TA: Soon enough Rufioh was landed down onto the ground where they needed to be.  
CG: Karkat stirred a little when he felt as they landed but his eyes didn’t open yet.  
TA: He nuzzled him gently but still allowed him to sleep, he began to walk into a small settlement camp.  
CG: Karkat gave a small nuzzle back in his sleep and curled up a little more into Rufioh.  
TA: He walked through a few bushes and between some trees before they came to a clearing, he smiled "Karkat...we're here" he whispered close to his ear.  
CG: Karkat groaned and then slowly opened his eyes. "Hmmm?"  
TA: He grinned down at him "We're here....you're finally safe"  
CG: Karkat turned his head to look around at everything that was there.  
TA: They were standing at the entrance of a small circle of tents. It was very quiet with strings of washing lines between the tents and a fire in the middle. The area was covered in grass and small flowers, there was currently only one other troll in the camp as the others were away or asleep.  
CG: Karkat looked around at it all and then back up at Rufioh. "I can walk you know." he said as he shifted to be put down so he could walk on his own.  
TA: Rufioh put him down and smiled "The other two are unlikely to find this place....its rather hidden"  
CG: "Well im sue that I still can’t find it at this point." He said and then slowly started to walk forward.  
TA: Rufioh stayed back a little and leaned against a tree, waiting for Karkat to take it all in.  
CG: Karkat looked around for a minute or two before he returned to Rufioh. "So where is Kankri?"  
TA: He walked up to him "Either preaching or hanging around here somewhere....I'll see if I can find him, don’t go too far" he smiled.  
CG: Karkat nodded. "And if you can find me some meat to eat." He said as he moved to sit under the tree.  
TA: He nodded and walked around to the back of the tents, looking for the other redblood.  
CG: Karkat smiled as he looked around once more. "It seems fairly peaceful here."  
TA: "isn't it just purrfect?" came a chirpy voice from the other side of the tree.  
CG: Karkat jumped at the voice and was on his feet almost instantly.  
TA: A small giggle came from the other side as a small feline troll slinked around the tree and grinned.  
CG: Karkat relaxed slightly. "Who are you?"  
TA: "I'm Nepeta, and you’re new here..." she narrowed her eyes at him.  
CG: Karkat gave a small nod. "Rufioh just brought me here." he said pointing in the direction that Rufioh had gone.  
TA: Her eyes lit up "He's back?"  
CG: "I take it you know him well then." He said since he really didn’t know how well Rufioh knew anyone there.  
TA: She hummed "I see him around, but he's not here often." she stood up, a few inches shorter than Karkat. "How do you know him?"  
CG: "I knew him as a wriggler. He often kept me out of trouble." He said with a shrug.  
TA: She nodded and scowled a little "Who are you anyway?"  
CG: "My name is Karkat." He said ignoring the scowl that she was giving him with ease.  
TA: "You must be pretty special to be brought here, some trolls don't even know about us"  
CG: "That much I know already. Kankri has caused a big stir with the highbloods already so of course they will fight to keep lowbloods from learning of him and his followers."  
TA: She giggled and whispered "That's the whole idea! Cause a big sturr so they know who they're dealing with" her tail curled and she covered her mouth in excitement.  
CG: Karkat rolled his eyes a little. "Maybe but it might actually be better to not do that."  
TA: She shook her head "Kankri knows best, thats the whole reason we're all here"  
CG: "No one can ever truly know best."  
TA: She shook her head again but was still smiling "You are a stubborn one aren't you?"  
CG: "It would be a shame if anyone ever had a chance to forget that."  
TA: She laughed and looked at him, her eyes falling to a bruise on his skin, she moved closer and grabbed his arm to look closer.  
CG: Karkat instantly jerked his arm away from her grip. "Don’t touch me." he growled.  
TA: Nepeta growled back "I only wanted to look!!"  
CG: "I don’t care. You do NOT grab me." he growled barring his teeth.  
TA: She snarled at him "You're hurt."  
CG: "I’m fine." he snarled back.  
TA: She tiptoed a little closer and hummed "You shouldn’t hide things Karkat, that’s not how it works around here."  
CG: Karkat growled threateningly at her as she came closer. "I’m not fucking hiding anything."  
TA: Her tail flicked and swayed, she bore her fangs with a slight smile "I don't want to fight you here Karkat"  
CG: Karkat glared at her and moved back a bit more wishing that Rufioh would hurry and get back.  
TA: She just moved closer and growled. "Hey, you two!" Rufioh called as he strode to them.  
CG: Karkat turned to look at Rufioh when he heard the voice relieved to see him there.  
TA: He pulled Karkat back by his shoulders "How long have you been here and you're already causing trouble"  
CG: "I didn’t fucking start it." He growled though the growl was nothing like the one he had aimed towards Nepeta not long ago.  
TA: Rufioh tutted and shook his head then looked to Nepeta who was pouting "Nepeta," he sighed "what have I told you about starting fights?" he said sternly. "Lowbloods shouldn't be against eachother"  
CG: Karkat looked back at Nepeta and glared instantly at her. He always had been very good with holding grudges.  
TA: She glared back and Rufioh just rolled his eyes "Kankri is round the back....come on" he tugged Karkat gently.  
CG: Karkat followed but gave one last glare over his shoulder at Nepeta.  
TA: She growled threateningly when he looked at her. Rufioh walked Karkat around to the back of the tents.  
CG: Karkat flipped her off and then walked around the back of the tents with Rufioh.


	4. A Weird Feeling About Him

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> 'Han bear ey all vor smarte   
> Oo en day trei striat ande glemt   
> Lee kell vell are vey til lit~'

TA: Rufioh held Karkat's hand down when he saw the gesture, he stopped him a little and rubbed his temples "Try to be polite around Kankri....please?"  
CG: Karkat rolled his eyes. "When have I ever not been polite?" he asked in a highly sarcastic voice.  
TA: He smirked "Just....if you think of something horrible to say...keep your mouth shut about it."  
CG: "I think you are giving that busted filter for that kind of stuff a bit too much credit for what it is able to do." he said jokingly but he knew that he would at least try to do it.  
TA: He shook his head and laughed "Do your best kid" he smiled and brought him through "Kankri....I brought him"  
CG: Karkat walked in and almost instinctively stayed a little closer to Rufioh.  
TA: Rufioh moved Karkat in front of him and held onto his shoulders. Kankri looked up from his notebook and smiled warmly at the two.  
CG: Karkat looked him over. Though it was the second time that they had met Karkat never had much of a good feeling when the two of them were together. "Hey." he said with as much command as he could.  
TA: "Hello" he said calmly and stood up, offering a hand to shake "I hope the journey wasn't too much trouble for you"  
CG: Karkat hesitantly took the hand but then again he had never been one who liked to be touched and it had taken a long time to even let Rufioh do anything. "It was what it was. It can always be worse."  
TA: He shook his hand firmly and then let go "That's an unusually positive way of looking at it" he then gestured to a tree stump across from where he was. "Please take a seat if you don't mind"  
CG: Karkat looked at Rufioh for a moment then went. "Well I am still breathing so as long as I get where I am going alive I think its a pretty good trip."  
TA: Rufioh smiled to him before Kankri spoke again "Indeed, well, I won't press you for any exceeding detail that you are uncomfortable with however I understand you have been having a difficult time recently. I really do appreciate your effort to make your way here." he sat back down and crossed his legs over.  
CG: "Well I obviously didn’t make it very long on my own so I guess that there wasn’t much else for someone like myself to go....Especially with my current condition." Karkat said as he looked down at his feet.  
TA: He nodded at his words and then spoke confidently "Yes, I hope you don't mind but Rufioh enlightened me of your predicament with those at the top of the hemospectrum. We have trolls here who can accommodate for your needs."  
CG: Karkat looked over at Rufioh. Part of him wanted to be mad that he had told about it but the other part was grateful because he didn’t want to really have to say it himself. He gave a small nod to Kankri. "Have any of them ever dealt with something like this before?  
TA: Rufioh avoided eye contact this time, not wanting Karkat to get annoyed. Kankri opened his mouth to say something then didn’t and made a circulating hand gesture "Well, a long time ago we did have a grub here and the troll who dealt with the youngster has since unfortunately passed but their teachings were passed on, so, we will do our best."  
CG: Karkat nodded at Kankri's words. "Alright but getting through the pregnancy won’t really be the hard part. I am mostly worried about when it is time for the grub to come." he said "I have no idea what to expect really."  
TA: "It would be unfair of me to lie to you, it is most likely you will be in a lot of pain, there is no definite time scale as to how long the pain will last but it should disperse once the grub has come. Do you have any idea how far along you are in your pregnancy?"  
CG: Karkat shook his head. "No if every anyone spoke about it they either didn’t say it in the same room or said it so quiet that I couldn’t hear it. But I know that I am already starting to show a bit and they said that I should start getting bigger rapidly fairly soon."  
TA: He nodded "We can keep you here and monitor your progress, if anything happens we will do everything we can to make you comfortable. Our collective do tend to move around as you can imagine, considering our motives and circumstances, it would be unwise for us to stay in one place for very long. Hopefully it shouldn’t cause you too much disturbance."  
CG: Karkat nodded. "Traveling isn’t much of a problem unless the road is really bumpy." He said since that was something that would need to be clarified.  
TA: "Of course, we will take that into consideration." He cleared his throat "Does anyone else know you are here?"  
CG: Karkat shook his head. "No." he said sadly and looked down once again.  
TA: He noticed "Karkat, my apologies if that question upset you...." he spoke a little softer.  
CG: "Its not the question that is the problem...." he sighed and stood up. "If it is ok I think that I would like to maybe get something to eat and then sleep some.”  
TA: "Alright, well I'm sure Rufioh can find you what you need. I'll come and find you if I need you." he smiled a little and Rufioh nodded.  
CG: Karkat nodded and then walked back over to Rufioh so that they could go.  
TA: Rufioh led him away and Kankri continued writing once they left.  
CG: Karkat walked right next to him almost close enough to be touching him.  
TA: He smiled and put an arm around him as they walked "How was that then?"  
CG: Karkat leaned against him and shrugged. "I don’t know. I always get a weird feeling around him."  
TA: "In what way?" he asked casually and walked over to a hamper of food in the corner.  
CG: "I don’t know how to describe it honestly. Its just not something that I have ever felt around someone else."  
TA: "Good weird or bad weird? If he's makin' you uncomfortable...I'll tell him to stay away"  
CG: Karkat sighed. "He doesn’t need to stay away Rufioh. Its probably nothing anyway." he said with a small smile. "Anyway what kinds of food do they have here."  
TA: "Its amazing...the meat is fresh because the group hunt every day for practice....and there's a lotta fruit cos theres plenty time to pick it....not much homemade stuff though"  
CG: "I don’t really care. Since there was a lot that we had packed on the cart that made me sick just to smell it, but meat definitely sounds wonderful."  
TA: "Alright, I think there's usually some on the fire...you sit here and I'll bring it over" he grinned.  
CG: Karkat smiled a bit and then nodded. He moved and sat down on the soft grass and actually wound up lying down since it felt that god.  
TA: Rufioh went over to the fire and checked to see if the meat was cooked. He picked it up carefully and brought it over on a wooden disc from a cut up tree.  
CG: Karkat hadn’t moved at all in the time that Rufioh had been gone. He was happy where he was in the grass but when he smelt the food near him he smiled and sat up so he could eat.  
TA: Rufioh smiled back and laid the meat down.  
CG: Karkat instantly started to eat it.  
TA: He chuckled as he watched him and picked pieces off to eat for himself.  
CG: Karkat ate until he felt full and at which point he gave a happy sigh and laid back in the grass.  
TA: "Better?" he lay down next to him.  
CG: He nodded. "So much better you don’t even know."  
TA: "Do you like it here?" he turned to him.  
CG: "I just got here a few minutes ago Rufioh. I have only met that annoying girl and Kankri so far."  
TA: He shrugged "Well theres not a lotta trolls here anyway....sure theres hundreds of followers everywhere but our camp is pretty small....minimizes the chance of danger and all that"  
CG: Karkat nodded. "Yeah I figured that much but at least give me until the end of the day to decide what I think.  
TA: "Alright" he gave in and laid flat on his back in the sun to sleep.  
CG: Karkat hesitated a moment before he rolled onto his side and moved so he was laying against Rufioh.  
TA: Rufioh smiled and put one arm around him, the other behind his own head, before closing his eyes.  
CG: Karkat smiled a bit and then closed his eyes relaxing against the other.  
TA: Rufioh was asleep in a few minutes after being tired out from the day.


	5. Panics

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lil bit of violence in this one

TA: Sollux was too busy trying to figure out what was happening and where Karkat was, all while trying not to hurt Gamzee.  
CG: Karkat slowly fell asleep the warmth of the sun helping to lull him to sleep. Gamzee tried to help Sollux as much as he could before finally being forced to pull back to himself and then he cursed to himself.  
TA: "S-Sorry..." Sollux managed between sobs and panicked breathing.  
CG: Gamzee instantly pulled him into a hug. "Its ok Sollux. Everything is going to be ok I promise." He said and kissed his forehead.  
TA: He shook his head and gripped onto him, now crying into his clothes "But what if it's not? Gamzee, I can't lose him again. I'd rather die, I can't lose him..."  
CG: "You arent going to lose him Solbro. We will find him. I promise." he said and kissed his head softly and rubbed his back trying to help calm him down a bit.  
TA: Sollux just continued to cry, occasionally hitting his fist on Gamzee's chest through anger at himself more than his matesprit.  
CG: Gamzee let Sollux vent his anger and barely even reacted to the fist that hit his chest. He gently rocked Sollux back and forth trying his best to calm him down.  
TA: "RUFIOH" he growled "That nooksniffing piece of shit! I'm gonna cull him the second I see him, he's fucking finished!" he shouted and snarled.  
CG: Gamzee nodded. "Yeah I know." he said just as pissed as Sollux was about it.  
TA: Sollux sniffed "Why did I let him come with us?"  
CG: "Because Karbro trusted him and you wanted Karbro to be happy." He said nuzzling into him.  
TA: "And now he's gone..." Sollux pulled back and sat down again "I'm ready to try find him again, I have to." he wiped his eyes.  
CG: Gamzee nodded. "Alright just relax. Here why don’t you lean against me a bit."  
TA: "If I do I might hurt you" he bit his lip.  
CG: "I promise I will lay you down if your psiioniics get too strong."  
TA: He hummed, not fully convinced but he leaned against Gamzee anyway, taking comfort in his touch and scent.  
CG: Gamzee gently wrapped his arms around him and nuzzled him. Gently before shifting so that he wouldn’t disturb Sollux while he worked.  
TA: Sollux closed his eyes and focussed on the bees first, trying to warm up his psiioniics.  
CG: Gamzee felt the light tingle of the others psiioniics working.  
TA: He connected with the bees then began to think about the first time Karkat saw them.  
CG: Gamzee stayed silent and watched his matesprit close so he would know if he needed to step in at some point.  
TA: He shifted a little and took his glasses off, then spoke to Gamzee without opening his eyes "Can you open the bee's cage?"  
CG: Gamzee nodded and easily shifted and opened up the cage. "Alright Solbro its open." he said and kissed Sollux's cheek softly.  
TA: Sollux smiled as he felt the kiss and then opened his eyes to look at the cage, one of the bees slowly coming out like he planned.  
CG: Gamzee watched the bee wondering what Sollux was planning to do.  
TA: "We don’t know how far away he is do we? I can get the bees to fly out for a bit, in theory I should feel when they are close to him."  
CG: Gamzee thought about that and nodded. "That’s a really good idea Solbro." he said smiling.  
TA: A few more bees flew out and one landed on his nose. "I can even let them sting Rufioh. It won’t hurt too much but its a small victory for the time being."  
CG: Gamzee frowned for a moment. "I thought that bees died after they stung somethin?" he said not fully sure since he wasn’t sure how much of a lot of stuff was true.  
TA: He nodded "They do, but I can shock them back if I do it at the right time, beside, they'll only sting if he aggravates them"  
CG: Gamzee nodded. "Alright that sounds good. But be careful not to hurt yourself."  
TA: He shrugged "It's for Karkat, a little pain will be worth it"  
CG: "I know Solbro. But just don’t do anything that will be too bad ok?" he said and kissed him softly.  
TA: He kissed back, gentle shocks pushing into Gamzee's mouth.  
CG: Gamzee chuckled a bit when he felt the shocks. "Your kiss is quite shocking today Solbro." Gamzee said teasingly.  
TA: He rolled his eyes and smiled "Well, I can certainly shock you later on" he teased back  
CG: Gamzee laughed. "I can’t wait." he said smiling before kissing his nose once and then leaning back.  
TA: Sollux closed his eyes again and concentrated, the group of bees that left the cage began to buzz out of the cart.  
CG: Gamzee watched him hoping that Sollux would be successful this time with finding Karkat.  
TA: The bees left and Sollux relaxed a little "I have no idea how long that's goin to take. We just have to wait until my thinkpan keels over"  
CG: Gamzee nodded. "Alright why don’t I make you something hot to eat for now? You need to keep your strength up."  
TA: "Yeah please" he brought his knees to his chest and hugged them .  
CG: Gamzee kissed his shoulder and then moved and started to get things ready so he could cook.  
TA: Sollux reached an arm out and laid his hand on the blanket where Karkat had been.  
CG: Gamzee started a small fire and soon had some meat and potatoes cooking over it in a pan.  
TA: He took in the smell of the cooking and the fire and smiled softly.  
CG: Once everything was going Gamzee returned to Sollux. "Food should be ready soon."  
TA: He nodded and then buried his head in his knees.  
CG: Gamzee moved and pulled Sollux into his arms and let him rest on his lap.  
TA: He sat close to him and curled up against his chest.  
CG: Gamzee rubbed his back gently.  
TA: He purred softly and nuzzled him.  
CG: Gamzee smiled and nuzzled him back happily and soon a low purr sounded from him as well.  
TA: He looked up at him with big wide eyes "What food are you making?"  
CG: "Some steak and potatoes....Why?" he asked as he kissed his forehead.  
TA: "Cos it smells really good" he hummed  
CG: Gamzee smiled. "Im glad ya think so Solbro." he said and kissed him gently on the lips.  
TA: He kissed back and purred against his lips.  
CG: Gamzee smiled and gently nipped his lower lip happily as his purr got louder.  
TA: He let out another tingling shock to Gamzee with a small smile.  
CG: Gamzee jumped slightly in surprise of the sudden sensation before he chuckled and shifted so he was pinning Sollux to the blankets under them.  
TA: He gazed up at him and grinned, then chuckled a little  
CG: Gamzee smiled and kissed his neck gently and gave it a small bite.  
TA: He gasped softly at the bite and leaned his neck up to his mouth.  
CG: Gamzee kissed along the neck slowly going lower before quickly moving and biting a spot that he knew was sensitive.  
TA: Sollux arched his back and moaned softly, bringing his hand up to pet Gamzee's hair.  
CG: Gamzee smiles and leans into the hand a little.  
TA: He stroked his hair before tugging it a little.  
CG: Gamzee smiled and gave another small bite to his neck and grinded down against Sollux.  
TA: He grinded up to him then moved to kiss him again, sucking on his bottom lip.  
CG: Gamzee smiled and slipped his hand up under Sollux's shirt happily.  
TA: He let him and then moved to kiss his neck, dragging his fangs along the skin.  
CG: Gamzee shivered happily before pulling back with a curse as he smelt the food starting to over cook. "Sorry." he said as he quickly jumped out of the cart and then went to check the food.  
TA: Sollux whined a little then sat up, his stomach grumbling.  
CG: Gamzee was glad that it wasn’t too bad and it was all still able to be eaten. He got a couple plates and served it all up.  
TA: Sollux rubbed his hands together and smiled when he saw the food.  
CG: Gamzee handed Sollux his plate and then jumped up so he could sit beside him.  
TA: Sollux rested his head on Gamzee's shoulder and started to eat happily.  
CG: Gamzee leaned against him and ate as well.  
TA: He grinned "This tastes amazing"  
CG: "Im glad that you like it." He said. "Sorry about the burnt bits though."  
TA: He shrugged "It's fine, Im starving so you could’ve served me a brick and I still would've eaten it"  
CG: "Well I never plan to serve you a brick. They are rough on your teeth." he said smiling.  
TA: "You’re rough on my teeth" he sniggered.  
CG: Gamzee laughed and playfully hit him. "Not true."  
TA: He nodded "Highblood skin; cold as ice and tough as armor" Sollux chuckled.  
CG: "Your thinkin of those seadwellers Solbro." He said smiling as he continued to eat. "The cold we all are but not all out skin is that tough."  
TA: "I've kissed and bitten you enough times to know that my skin is like cloth compared to yours" he took another mouthful.  
CG: Gamzee chuckled. "Alright fine I give. Since I know that you won’t let me win this fight."  
TA: He smiled and kissed his cheek "Not at all"  
CG: Gamzee smiled and kissed him before he went back to eating.  
TA: Sollux quickly ate up his food, having not had a proper meal in a while.  
CG: Gamzee finished his food a little after Sollux and then went to put out the fire.  
TA: Sollux sighed once he was done and laid down.   
CG: Gamzee made sure that the fire was fully doused before he went and laid down beside Sollux.  
TA: He rolled over to be closer to Gamzee  
CG: Gamzee wrapped his arms around him and pulled him flush against his own body.  
TA: He nuzzled against him and purred softly.  
CG: Gamzee purred back and kissed the top of his head.  
TA: "Flushed for you" he whispered.  
CG: "Flushed for you always." he said and kissed him again.  
TA: Sollux smiled at him and kissed back happily. Rufioh woke up a little while later and squinted at the sun.  
CG: Gamzee smiled and held Sollux tight happy to be with him at least. Karkat was still laying right up against Rufioh fast asleep.  
TA: Rufioh turned his head as much as he could with his horns in the way and smiled when he saw Karkat with him.  
CG: Karkat mumbled a little in his sleep before nuzzling into Rufioh's side a bit.  
TA: He moved his hand up a little to pet his hair softly.  
CG: Karkat purred in his sleep before his eyes slowly started to open.  
TA: Rufioh smiled and ran his fingers through Karkat's hair, trying to wake him up a little more gently than the first.  
CG: Karkat let out a small groan around the purr before shifting so he could look up at Rufioh. "hmm?"  
TA: "Hey there sleepyhead" he whispered then chuckled.  
CG: "What time is it?" he asked sitting up a little so he could look around.  
TA: "I think its around 7 at night....we slept through most of the day"  
CG: Karkat sat up more in surprise at that. "What?!"  
TA: "Yup" he sat up too and stretched "May our sleeping schedules rest in peace....heh"  
CG: Karkat laughed a bit and shook his head. "You are way too relaxed sometimes you know that?"  
TA: He smiled and shrugged "Thats a lot better than bein' uptight all the time....y'know?"  
CG: "Yeah I guess so." he said as he looked around the small camp. He couldnt believe that he had actually fallen asleep where he had.  
TA: "Sleep well?" he stood up and fluttered his wings a little.  
CG: "Surprisingly yes." he said and then slowly got to his feet.  
TA: "Glad to hear that.... Cos here comes trouble" Rufioh looked somewhere and sighed "What was that Rufioh?" Kankri asked as he approached.  
CG: Karkat blinked when he saw Kankri coming towards them and without actually realizing it he moved a bit closer to Rufioh.  
TA: Rufioh saw and then put his arm around the smaller troll. "Nothin' Vantas..." he chuckled "Good, I should think not" Kankri began "Karkat, I'm afraid there a very important pressing matter we must attend to."  
CG: Karkat felt a bit better with the arm around him though he didn’t let that show. He then frowned at Kankri's words. "What?"  
TA: He looked at him and tilted his head slightly "To put it simply, we need to perform a physical assessment on you to determine the well-being of the grub and your progress in the pregnancy"  
CG: Karkat gave a small and unsure nod. "Alright." he said though he wasn’t really sure about it all still.  
TA: "If you would be so kind as to follow me then" He turned and began walking.  
CG: Karkat nodded and started to walk after him.  
TA: Rufioh shoved his hands in his pockets and rocked on his heels "You want me to come with you, dog?"  
CG: Karkat looked back at him. "Of course I do." he said as if Rufioh should have known that all along.  
TA: He grinned wide and jogged a little to catch up with him "Bangarang!"  
CG: Karkat instantly started to laugh. "Your still saying that?" he said as he walked beside him.  
TA: "You bet I am!" he said proudly. Kankri led them to a white tent which had a campbed in the middle and a few other lowbloods surrounding it.  
CG: Karkat chuckled a bit longer before he saw the tent and the trolls that were standing around. He had never been one for crowds and even more so after what had happened to him.  
TA: "Karkat, do keep in mind the fact that these trolls know what they are doing, little could go wrong here but if you feel uncomfortable at any point do not hesitate to gesticulate your displeasure and our nurses will stop. Is that clear?"  
CG: Karkat looked at Kankri and then nodded. "Yeah." he said and looked at them all again before turning to Rufioh. "You are going to be in there with me right?"  
TA: "Of course" he smiled at him warmly.  
CG: Karkat smiled and then looked back since they had arrived at the group of other trolls and the tent.  
TA: Kankri nodded to them and then Karkat before leaving. One of the nurses gestured to the bed.  
CG: Karkat went and hopped up onto the bed motioning for Rufioh to come over beside him.  
TA: Rufioh stood beside him and held out his hand before taking it away as one of the nurses spoke "Karkat, you’re going to have to take your clothes off" she said simply.  
CG: Karkat bit his lip slightly. "I don’t think thats a good idea." he said softly he knew that Rufioh would freak out when he saw some of the things on his body.  
TA: The nurse who spoke rolled her eyes "At least take your shirt off"  
CG: Karkat looked down at shook his head slowly.  
TA: She huffed a bit "We need access to you abdomen, arm and mouth, for now anyway"  
CG: Karkat rolled up his sleeve and then laid back and lifted his shirt just enough for them to be able to see the abdomen without the brand showing at all.  
TA: Rufioh held his hand and ran his thumb over Karkat's knuckles. Other nurse stepped forward with a needle "We are just going to take some blood okay? It will be over in a few seconds"  
CG: Karkat tensed instantly at the sight of the needle and his grip on Rufioh's hand tightened greatly.  
TA: "Hey, its alright" Rufioh used his other hand to stroke his hair as the needle poked into Karkat  
CG: Karkat turned his head and nuzzled into Rufioh's a small whimper sounding from him when he felt the poke of the needle going in.  
TA: Rufioh crouched down and tried to comfort him, a sigh came from the nurse "I can’t find a vein."  
CG: Karkat bit his lip since he knew this was a common thing with him. He turned his head farther to hide it in Rufioh as best as he could not looking forward to a second poke.  
TA: The nurse moved to a different spot on his arm and tried again, luckily he was successful and he took the blood as quickly as he could. Rufioh nuzzled him once it was over.  
CG: Another whine came from Karkat when he was poked again and was glad when it was over and he nuzzled back against Rufioh glad that he was there with him.  
TA: The female nurse came forward again, holding up a stethoscope "Im going to try and find the grub's pulse or heart beat now"  
CG: Karkat relaxed a good deal once the needle was far away from him and he nodded at the next nurse. "Alright." he said still holding Rufioh's hand.  
TA: She brought the stethoscope to his abdomen and listened for a while "We don’t have the kind of equipment that highbloods will..."  
CG: "I understand that. And really I don’t think it matters since most of the crap breaks often anyway." he said which was very true.  
TA: She smirked and kept listening "Your grub has a strong heartbeat, its rather fast but that's probably because it can sense your nerves"  
CG: Karkat nodded figuring that it made sense, or at least he thought that it did.  
TA: "You can sit up now, have you been having morning sickness?"  
CG: Karkat sat up. "No." he said though he didn’t really know what that was and just figured that it was getting sick only in the morning.  
TA: "Are you sure? It's very common." she paused "Would you mind opening you mouth?"  
CG: Karkat nodded and then opened his mouth like he had been told to do.  
TA: The nurse held his jaw open and looked inside "Your back molars have serious corrosion on them, most likely from vomit or liquidized drugs." she pulled back "If you’re not being sick then...well I suggest you take better care in your choices in the future, you are carrying afterall"  
CG: Karkat clenched his jaw a bit when she made the comment. He had gotten sick a couple of times but never anything too bad or too often at the moment but he knew that she thought that he was purposefully doing drugs. "I am not doing any drugs." he growled at her barring his teeth a little.  
TA: Rufioh growled too "Karkat is sensible.... he knows the risks" the nurse just rolled her eyes "yeah that’s what they all say"  
CG: Karkat without really thinking lunged at her. His anger was always quick, but it was even faster now.  
TA: She made a panicked noise and fell to the floor, Rufioh grabbed Karkat and pulled him off of her "KARKAT, NO." he raised his voice seriously for the first time.  
CG: Karkat growled at her and struggled against Rufioh until he heard his words and actually winced at them before turning and looked up at Rufioh.  
TA: He softened his voice "You can’t do that here okay?  
CG: Karkat looked down and then started out of the tent stepping over the nurse that he had attacked.  
TA: Rufioh immediately followed him and grabbed his arm once he was out of the tent "Where are you going now?"  
CG: Karkat pulled his arm away "I shouldn’t be here Rufioh. I am a freak even with another like me I am still a freak and it seems that will always be how it is. But even more than that Rufioh they don’t know my story. They follow an idiot who preaches of peace and equality and then don’t even take the time to get to know what the fuck is going on with someone like me."  
TA: He shook his head "Don’t you dare call him an idiot." he said in a tone that was strikingly different from his usual cheery self. "You are meant to be here. Karkat, we are all here for a reason, there is no better place for you. Trolls here are still learning about the world, about those like you and I....you can’t blame them for getting things wrong and it’s unfair to hurt them like that." he said sternly.  
CG: Karkat shook his head. "And what about me Rufioh? I was forced to learn a lot that a troll my age should just barely be starting to get acquainted with. I know how to fight my way out of a highblood party. Hell, for about half a sweep I was the perfect fucking diplomat for Dualscar and those he was entertaining. At a rate like this Kankri will NEVER be able to change shit. So, excuse me if I DO blame them for not knowing a fucking thing that she obviously should know. Or at least have the fucking decency to wait to fucking learn." Karkat snapped and then turned away again and started to walk.  
TA: He grabbed his shoulders and gripped him tight. "Karkat, listen to me. Your life is shit, I get that okay? But people here are trying to help you. /I'm/ trying to help you. Kankri is doing his best to keep everyone together and to keep everyone safe and happy as well as trying to change the system that keeps our planet the way it is. And in case you haven’t noticed, that’s kinda a big deal. You need to calm down and let us help." he growled in his ear from behind.  
CG: Almost out of instinct when Rufioh growled in his ear like he did Karkat shivered a bit and before leaning back against him a bit. "Rufioh....please......just leave me alone for a bit." Karkat said softly a couple of tears sliding down to his shirt.  
TA: He loosened his grip "Promise me you won't leave?" he said softly.  
CG: Karkat looked down a bit. "I at least won’t leave until morning. I won’t promise anything after that for now." he said his voice just barely louder than a whisper.  
TA: His hands shook on Karkat's shoulders "Wh-what did I do wrong...? I don’t understand.... why would anyone want to leave here?"  
CG: Karkat turned and wrapped his arms around Rufioh's waist and buried his face into his chest. "It wasn’t anything that you did Rufioh. I just.... I don’t belong here.... I may not belong anywhere."  
TA: He held him straight away "You do, everyone belongs somewhere"  
CG: "Then where would someone like me belong Rufioh? I don’t do well with others. I never had, and you know that. My temper will always be a problem even more now that I have the grub.... I just.... Don’t know what to do." his said his tears going right into Rufioh's shirt.  
TA: He petted his hair soothingly "Maybe it doesn’t matter where you are, but who you’re with..."  
CG: Karkat held him a little tighter. "Promise me something Rufioh." he said softly his tears still falling freely.  
TA: "Anything" he replied just as soft.  
CG: "Promise that no matter what happens you will never abandon me." he said his grip tightening just a little.  
TA: He let him clutch onto him and he nodded "I'll never do that, you'll always be my first thought"  
CG: Karkat smiled and continued to cry into Rufioh's shirt for a good few minutes before it calmed down into sniffling and then silence.  
TA: Rufioh held him tight the whole time and rocked him gently.  
CG: Karkat didn’t let go at all and didn’t once move to pull away, or really move at all other than the gentle movement that Rufioh was causing.  
TA: Rufioh leaned down and placed a gentle kiss on Karkat's head as he rocked him.  
CG: Karkat nuzzled against him his eyes closed softly almost as if he were asleep while standing there.  
TA: Unfortunately, it wouldn’t last for long through as Karkat would soon hear a soft buzz near his ear.  
CG: Karkat lifted his head curiously when he heard the buzz.  
TA: It came louder as the bee buzzed frantically around Karkat's ears.  
CG: Karkat frowned and tilted his head as he looked at the bee. 'I didn’t realize that there were any bees around here.' Karkat thought to himself.  
TA: Rufioh scowled and snatched at the bee, trying to catch it but failing as the buzzing creature escaped his swatting each time.  
CG: Karkat caught his arm after a couple tries. "Stop Rufioh you are only going to make it mad." He said and then took his hand and then started back towards the tent that they had come from.  
TA: Rufioh walked with him but the bee flew to them and thwacked against Karkat's cheek.  
CG: Karkat made a small wave movement of his hand and then entered the tent the flap closing behind him stopping the bee from entering.


	6. Procedures

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings for:   
> Medical procedures (/gore maybe?? what classes as gore??)

TA: Sollux was crumpled on the floor, holding his head and panting. His eyes sparked, and his vision was warped.  
CG: Gamzee jumped as he was shocked, and he moved back a bit. "Sol what’s wrong?"  
TA: "Karkat..." he managed then covered his mouth to stop himself from wailing.  
CG: Gamzee moved and gently used his voodoos to try and help with the pain that Sollux was feeling.  
TA: He shook his head and uncovered his mouth, his gaze still on the floor "N-n-n-no....m-my head isn’t safe to be I-in" He stuttered out.  
CG: "I will be fine don’t worry Sol." He said still trying to help as much as he could  
TA: He covered his mouth again to muffle the pained noises he was making but he sighed as Gamzee's voodoos took some of the pain away.  
CG: Gamzee felt a throb in the back of his pan but not much else as he took away the pain that he could for Sollux.  
TA: He kept panting and sweated lightly, slowly calming down bit by bit.  
CG: Gamzee continued to help. "What’s going on with Karbro?" he asked after a bit  
TA: "One of the bees found him and they touched, since I was focusing my energy on both at the same time it’s like my pan short circuited or something when they come in close contact. Must have something to do with the corresponding waves of psiioniics not meeting properly but it hurt, it really fucking hurt" he said quickly and tried to catch his breath.  
CG: Gamzee moved and gently ran his fingers through Sollux's hair. "Do you need anything right now Solbro?"  
TA: He leaned into the hand "A hug and a bottle of wine" he smirked weakly  
CG: "I can see what I can find." he said and got up to go look for something.  
TA: Sollux was about to protest but stopped himself, he figured he deserved a temporary lift on the ban placed by Karkat after the day’s events.  
CG: Gamzee was happy when he found something. It was for lowbloods, so it wouldn’t be like any of the stuff that he had given Sollux.  
TA: Sollux looked up when he saw Gamzee come back.  
CG: "Here you go Solbro. A gift from Tavbro." he said and handed Sollux the bottle.  
TA: He smiled and wiped the sweat off his brow before opening the bottle and taking a large gulp.  
CG: Gamzee sat next to him. "You are going to be ok right?"  
TA: "It d-d-doesn’t matter about me, we need to find Karkat." he leaned on Gamzee.  
CG: "I know but you need to be alright for when we do." he said and kissed him.  
TA: He kissed back, and a sharp stabbing shock formed between their lips as he did. He yelped and pulled away.  
CG: Gamzee cursed a bit and pulled back not sure what had just happened.  
TA: "S-sorry Gamzee" he groaned "I didn't mean to d-d-do that" he covered his mouth slowly.  
CG: "I know.... I know it just surprised me is all." he said calmly.  
TA: He leaned on him and closed his eyes.  
CG: Gamzee wrapped his arms around him and held him close.  
TA: "Are you okay?" he asked slowly and softly.  
CG: "Yeah I’m fine. You don’t have to worry about me." he said and nuzzled him a little.  
TA: He hummed, sounding a little unsure, then sipped at the drink.  
CG: "It’s true. Remember I have skin like armour." he said and kissed his cheek gently. "I really am fine."  
TA: "You took psiioniic energy waves, th-that isn’t healthy"  
CG: "It will be fine. Ok I have had a lot worse than that in my life." he said which was true.  
TA: "Promise you'll tell me if s-so-something is wrong?"  
CG: "I promise Solbro." he said and held him tight. "Is Karbro alright?"  
TA: "No" he answered honestly "Something is tr-troubling him, but I don't know what"  
CG: "Like he is in danger at the moment or just that there is something on his mind that he could use a moirail to deal with?" he asked wanting to know.  
TA: "Second one" he said sadly, wanting to be there for him.  
CG: Gamzee nodded. "Well that’s better than if it was the first." He said. "Any idea what direction the bee went in to find him?"  
TA: He nodded "It's still there, but Karkat isn't anywhere near him"  
CG: "Well who knows if he goes there we will at least be closer to where he was which will make it easier to actually find him." he said with a shrug.  
TA: "Yeah" he snuggled into his arms and sipped at his drink again.  
CG: "We can go as soon as you are ready." he said still holding onto him.  
TA: "Just g-go now, I'll be alright" he wriggled out of his grasp to stand up.  
CG: Gamzee nodded. "Do you want to just lay back here and give me directions through the wall?"  
TA: He nodded and rubbed his eyes, walking over to the blankets.  
CG: Gamzee covered him up in the blankets. "Or if you want to sleep just have a bee show me the way."  
TA: Sollux nodded again, his eyes already closing. He let his eyes spark up again as a bee flew out and whizzed around Gamzee.  
CG: Gamzee smiled a bit and then climbed out of the cart and up so he could drive.  
TA: The bee followed and Sollux fell asleep almost instantly.  
CG: Gamzee started the hoofbeasts off at a decent pace and followed the direction that the bee was having him go.  
TA: Sollux slept peacefully and the bee led the way by directions Sollux was still managing to communicate to it.  
CG: Gamzee kept going until he needed to stop to get something to eat and to check on Sollux.  
TA: By that point Sollux was sprawled out under the blankets and drooling.  
CG: Gamzee climbed up into the back of the cart and smiled when he saw Sollux. He figured that he should just let him sleep and got out some fruit for himself to eat.  
TA: Sollux shifted only a little when he heard Gamzee come in  
CG: Gamzee grabbed what he needed and then headed out of the cart so he could eat and drink without accidentally waking Sollux.  
TA: He mumbled a little in his sleep and snored softly.  
CG: Once he was done eating and drinking a little he got back to driving the cart and following the bee.

TA: Rufioh sighed and sat on the very edge of the bed in the tent. The nurse looked suitably pissed off  
CG: Karkat easily ignored the nurse's look and just waited for further instructions for the check-up.  
TA: She huffed "Something tells me you’re not going to allow us to actually examine your nook, so I just need you to tell me if there are any major external or internal cuts that you know about. This will be important for the birthing process so don’t bother lying, it will only cause more risks for the grub and for yourself"  
CG: Karkat thought about that. Sure, there had been some in the beginning of his time with the highbloods, but he really wasn’t sure about right then, so he let out a small sigh. "Get me a blanket and then let me change so that you can look." He said not exactly happy about it, but it was necessary.  
TA: "Thank you" she said, a little surprised. The male nurse from before passed him a blanket.  
CG: Karkat took it and then looked down. "Could you all leave while I dress down?" he asked not really looking at them.  
TA: They nodded and left, Rufioh gave him a small sympathetic smile as he left the tent.  
CG: Karkat sat there for a moment after everyone was gone and then he slowly started to remove the clothes and set them off to the side of the tent before getting back up onto the table and calling everyone back in. "Alright." He said and kept most of his body covered, mainly those parts that had brands but even still some of the scars that he had were visible.  
TA: Only Rufioh and the male nurse came back through, Rufioh walked round the table without saying anything and moved to sit so that he could stroke his hair and hold his hand if needed. The nurse stood at the end of the bed "Lie down and open your legs, but more importantly, just relax"  
CG: Karkat nodded at the nurse's words and then did what he was told looking away from the other and just turning his head towards Rufioh, his only real source of comfort at the moment.  
TA: Rufioh cupped his face softly and looked into his eyes. The nurse inspected him and then used his gloved fingers to gently dilate Karkat's nook.  
CG: Karkat whined at the feeling of what the other was doing but his body didn’t move at all and nothing changed, something he had learned to do since tightening up only made him bleed more.  
TA: The nurse examined him carefully before sitting up again "The surrounding skin is extremely irritated, there’s scar tissue all around the opening and what looks like an internal blockage of sorts." he said softly.  
CG: Karkat looked back at him and frowned. "Internal blockage?" he asked since he really had no idea what any of it was.  
TA: He nodded "It's difficult to tell what it is...probably a blood clot, or genetic material that hasn’t been cleared out. Whatever it is, I'm afraid it needs to be removed before the grub comes." he said, actually sounding apologetic.  
CG: Karkat gave a small nod in understanding. "What has to happen to get it out?" he asked a bit worried about it all."  
TA: "Well, I'll have to insert something to get it out. Ideally it would be done with surgery, but we don’t have that luxury."  
CG: Karkat nodded. "How soon does it have to be done?" He asked looking over at Rufioh a bit for comfort.  
TA: Rufioh had been listening quietly, however his expression showed he really wasn’t pleased, he nuzzled him gently "There's no exact time just as long as it’s before the grub comes. But I can do it now and get it over with if you’d rather, then again you can always wait it really is up to you"  
CG: Karkat nuzzled back against Rufioh and then looked at the nurse. "Just get it over with." he said quietly. "Just make sure that I can’t see what you’re doing and if there are any needles involved that I really don’t see them at all."  
TA: He nodded and Rufioh brushed the hair from Karkat's forehead. The nurse then positioned Karkat's legs so that they were bent and spread open then laid another blanket over his knees to that Karkat wouldn’t be able to see.  
CG: Karkat turned his face towards Rufioh and nuzzled him just trying to not think about what was happening. "Why don’t you tell me one of those outrageous stories that you used to love to tell." he said to Rufioh, so he would have something else to focus on.  
TA: Rufioh smiled a little and held his hand "How about the story of how I escaped my boss?" he asked as the nurse prepared a pair of long blunt tweezers.  
CG: Karkat smiled a bit and then nodded. "That sounds like it would be an interesting one." he said glad that Rufioh always seemed to have some kind of story for him.  
TA: Rufioh looked down to him and began "Let me set the scene; your main man Rufioh here was pushed into a hall full of drunken and delirious highbloods, not to mention the strangling grip of Mindfang's powers in and around my think-pan.... heh...seems impossible for me to get out right?" the nurse opened Karkat's nook again slowly, more so than last time.  
CG: Karkat made a small sound at the feel of what was happening to him but did his best to focus on the story. "Yeah it does sound pretty impossible." he said since it really did sound like that.  
TA: Rufioh shook his head "Haven’t you got any faith in me, dog?" he chuckled "So here I am....half an hour in, bein' told to sit and behave and be a good boy for the highbloods when one starts bein' all close and touchy feely.... causing me a lotta trouble."  
CG: Karkat chuckled a bit at his words and then continued to listen to the story happily, and actually almost able to ignore what the nurse was doing. "I hate it when they get like that. Like sometimes it’s better when they just want to try and cull you." he said with a bit of a smile on his face.  
TA: He chuckled "Yeah, well this one was really going for it.... I have to admit.... I played along for a while but made it clear when I wanted to stop.... he kept trying to take off my clothes and stuff, so I hit them pretty hard across the face.... kapow!! Y'know?" he said with a smile on his face, loving being able to be dramatic. The nurse slid the long instrument into Karkat slowly.  
CG: Karkat chuckled a little at Rufioh knowing that it was exactly the kind of thing that he would do, Hell Karkat himself would do the same thing. Had several times in the beginning though eventually it stopped as he was worn out more and more.  
TA: "His face was just the picture of pure rage.... that’s when I realized I really messed up.... he pinned me down and we brawled for a bit..." he aimed his thumb to his own chest proudly "I was obviously stronger though...then of course my boss came through and started yelling" he rolled his eyes and the nurse bend down to get a better look, slowly easing the tweezers open.  
CG: Karkat smiled. "Of course, you were. How many bruises or broken ribs did he give yo-" the word was cut off by a squeak as he felt what the nurse was doing. He forced himself not to shift at all and just look back up at Rufioh.  
TA: Rufioh cradled Karkat's head as he heard the noise he made "Split the skin on my eyebrow see?" He pointed to a faded scar "Bit me a bunch of times and I think he broke my collar bone...but I'm no doctor" he chuckled "Mindfang helped hold me down, pushed into my mind and told me just to lie there and take it....It was difficult to disobey her like I did."  
CG: Karkat nuzzled into Rufioh when he felt him cradling his head like he was. He saw the scar and smiled at it a bit. "It is always hard to fight what is in your brain. I learned that fast though with the Makaras it is impossible to actually fight it."  
TA: He nodded "I was under her control for sweeps, I did lay there for him but....I started struggling again through fear...I got out from under him and thats when she ripped my wing" He was starting to realise how difficult it was for him to re-tell this. The nurse moved the instrument further and took hold of the clump.  
CG: Karkat carefully reached up and gently cupped Rufioh's cheek with the arm closest to him so he wouldn’t move too much down where the nurse was working. "You don’t have to continue you know." He said knowing exactly how hard it could be to talk about that kind of stuff.  
TA: He shook his head "Don’t worry my boy, its got a good ending....I uh...slammed her into the wall pretty hard until she lost consciousness, then so did I....because of how difficult it was to disobey her...." the nurse started to drag the blockage out, being careful not to damage him any further.  
CG: Karkat nodded and listened making a few faces at the feeling of whatever the nurse was doing to him. It felt strange though it wasn’t exactly uncomfortable. "Then how did you get away if you passed out?" he asked not really sure how that would have worked.  
TA: "Well, I woke up before her, I don’t know how long I was out but....the other highblood wasn’t around" he said quickly, not wanting to dwell too much on what may have happened when he wasn’t awake or aware. " I made my way out...sneaking around highbloods like a ninja" he said dramatically with the appropriate pose. The nurse pulled at the clump until he could see it at the opening, he bit his lip and spoke softly "This is probably going to hurt a little"  
CG: Karkat smiled at Rufioh's words and especially his pose but that smile fell almost as soon as he heard the doctor's words. He bit his lip and reached for Rufioh without even having to think about what he was doing.  
TA: He held his hand and arm, then bent down and nuzzled Karkat's forehead with his own. "I scrambled out, quick as a spider..." he paused and smiled as he realised the irony in his words. "Couldnt fly away because of my boss' beating so...I kept walking" the nurse took the clump with the tweezers again and prepared a small tray.  
CG: Karkat closed his eyes when Rufioh nuzzled his forehead he just did his best to see the story in his mind and to keep all his focus on that. "I never though I would ever be able to think of you as a spider until now." he said a bit teasingly, his voice tense with the worry that he felt.  
TA: "Well, half my think pan was being used by one" the nurse pulled at the blockage, it stretched out his nook momentarily before coming out. He lay it on the tray and soon a steady flow of deep purple sludge seeped out of Karkat.  
CG: Karkat cried out in pain of the blockage coming out and then clung to Rufioh as his body shook while the purple sludge came out of his nook.  
TA: He held him and began to shoosh pap him gently "It's okay, its okay...."  
CG: Karkat stayed like that until the sludge finally stopped coming out and only then did he actually take a decent breath and relax just a little.  
TA: He pulled him close and nuzzled him, extremely worried. The nurse took a cloth and gently dabbed at his nook. "Its out, it looks like old genetic material....alot of it"  
CG: Karkat burried his face into Rufioh his body still shaking a little though it was more from pure exhaustion than anything else. "Grand Highblood's or Dualscar's......Or....maybe boths." he said his voice shakier than his body.  
TA: The nurse just nodded "I take it that you arent pailing with them anymore?"  
CG: "Never....wanted to .... In the ....first...place." he said tears starting to flow onto Rufioh's shirt once again.  
TA: Rufioh pulls him onto his lap, wrapping him up in the blankets and rocking him gently in his arms. "I know, your nook shows signs of being forced open repeatedly,it wasn’t your fault Karkat." the nurse said quietly.  
CG: Karkat nuzzles into Rufioh. "I don’t ever want to go back to that again. I don’t want to be either of their play thing. No matter who's grub it is I lose." Karkat murmured his tears flowing faster and quickly soaking into Rufioh's shirt.  
TA: "I won’t let you go back....I won’t ever let them hurt you again no matter what happens to the grub" Rufioh hugged him tightly and kissed the top of his head gently  
CG: Karkat clung to the other's shirt tightly almost tight enough to put holes in it. He hated to admit it but he was scared. He was scared of what was going to happen to him especially if he was found.  
TA: Rufioh held him close to his chest and nuzzled into his hair. "Karkat....as long as I'm here nothing bad will ever happen....and I don’t plan on going anywhere without you"  
CG: Karkat slowly stopped trembling with his words and before he couls think about it he murmured a single word. "flushed." he said before the exhaustion took over and he fell asleep.  
TA: Rufioh kept holding him, he heard his murmur and looked down to him, about to say something before he fell asleep. He tucked him up into the blanket to keep him warm and held him close as he picked him up slowly.  
CG: Karkat's breath was even and his body fully relaxed in his sleep, not even dreams would interrupt this sleep. He would be out for a while which was really what he needed at the moment.  
TA: While Karkat was asleep, Rufioh carried him through to his own tent and sat on the floor next to his bed, still cradling the bundle of blankets with the little redblood.  
CG: Karkat wound up sleeping for about four or five hours before he even stirred. The entire time he not moving at all other than to breathe and nothing else. When he finally started to wake it was made apparent with only a small shift of his body before his eyes opened slowly.  
TA: Rufioh ended up falling asleep too and was sitting against the bed with his legs out and his head back, Karkat still in his arms of course.  
CG: Karkat looked around a little and smiled when he saw that he was in Rufioh's arms he nuzzled into the older male and just stayed how he was since he was very comfortable.  
TA: Rufioh stayed asleep as he was unaware of Karkat waking up.  
CG: Karkat stayed like that until he started to get real hungry and at which point he gently bumped Rufioh with the nubby horns that he had. "Rufioh...."  
TA: "Hm?" he groaned and blinked awake, bringing one hand up to rub his eyes.  
CG: Karkat smiled. "Im hungry." he said softly as he watched the other. "And in need of some clothes."  
TA: He chuckled and looked down at him. "Yeah...I'll find you something" he said and then tapped Karkat's nose with his fingertip.  
CG: Karkat playfully bit at the finger that tapped his nose though wrapped in the blankets like he was he couldnt move enough to actually bite it even if he wanted to.  
TA: He laughed and pulled his finger away, then scooped him up and lay him on the bed so that he could search for clothes "Hows my little trouble-maker feeling anyway?"  
CG: "Better now that I have slept....and also a little strange after what the nurse did." he said which was true but that was to be expected for at least a little while.  
TA: "He was only doing his job....and its better to come out than stay in" he searched around in a pile of clothes  
CG: "Yeah I know. Its just going to feel a little strange for a while until my body gets used to not having it in there anymore." he said as he watched Rufioh.  
TA: He nodded at his words and dragged out some plain clothes, he brought them over and held them up "These okay, dog?"  
CG: Karkat smiled at them. "As long as they fit and cover everything properly I don’t care what they look like." he said as he sat up the blankets falling off of his upper body which instantly showed the brand that was under his collarbone.  
TA: Rufioh couldnt help but look at the brand. He sighed and tilted Karkat's chin up as he passed the clothes over so that he was looking into his eyes "If they want to hurt you again, they're going to have to cull me first." he said reassuringly.  
CG: Karkat looked up at Rufioh and smiled a little at his words before he sighed and looked back down. "It wouldn’t work that way Rufioh. It never does sadly."  
TA: He shook his head "I mean it....I'm not letting them near you ever again, not Dualscar, the Grandhighblood, Gamzee or even Mindfang."  
CG: Karkat smiled "Just promise that you won’t get yourself killed. I couldnt stand it if you did." he said before moving so he could get dressed not even caring that Rufioh was going to see him naked and see the other brand that he had on him.  
TA: He shrugged "I'll try." he said, then took a moment to look at Karkat, he noticed his array of scars, bruises and marks more than anything, his heart breaking a little more with every one he counted. Rufioh then turned away, realizing he shouldn't have been looking and busied himself with tidying up a little.  
CG: Karkat quickly got dressed and admittedly smiled to himself when he saw Rufioh turn away something that he had gotten all to accustomed to people not doing so it felt good to have someone finally do it without him having to say something about it.  
TA: Rufioh finished up and turned back around only when he was sure Karkat was fully dressed. "Food?"  
CG: Karkat nodded still smiling a bit. "Yeah Im starving." he said though that wasn’t unusual since he normally ate a lot .  
TA: "Let's go find something then" he said with a smile and held his hand out.  
CG: Karkat took his hand and instantly moved so he could walk beside Rufioh maybe a little closer than was actually necessary.  
TA: Rufioh didn't mind and walked with him outside to the centre of the camp, there were a few more trolls milling around.  
CG: Karkat looked at the new faces that were around and though he still felt a bit nervous he actually felt a bit more at home there now than he had before.  
TA: Rufioh led him to the fire and sat down, Nepeta and a couple other trolls were sat around it too.  
CG: Karkat sat down right next to Rufioh looked around at them and surprisingly didn’t actually react to Nepeta being there like he normally would have after their bad encounter.  
TA: Rufioh casually put his arm around Karkat, "So do you want fruit, red meat or fish....or all three?"  
CG: "Red meat and fish sound really good. Im not so sure about the fruit but if I don’t eat it then you will have to." he said leaning against Rufioh when he felt the arm around himself.  
TA: He nodded and used his other hand to serve up the food from the stove to Karkat then took a leg of meat for himself.  
CG: Karkat dug into the meat instantly loving how it tasted, though he hated to admit that it didn’t compare to some of the highblood delicacies that he had but at the same time something about this meat that he was eating now seemed to put it all to shame.  
TA: Rufioh chuckled when he saw Karkat eating so quickly and took a bite of his own food. "I take it you like the meat then?"  
CG: "I don’t know what it is really. After eating some of the fancy highblood food for so long it puts this ones taste to shame but still somehow all that fancy food can’t stand up to this little bit right here." he said looking up at Rufioh as he spoke.  
TA: He smiled down at him and then shrugged "What can I say? ...We've got good meat and even better hunters here"  
CG: Karkat nodded "I can definitely agree with that." he said as he continued to eat happily. Also because every bite didn’t make him want to puke some some foods seemed to be doing lately.  
TA: He ruffled Karkat's hair and continued to eat. Sollux woke up hazily and yawned.  
CG: Karkat smiled and continued to eat.


	7. Heart to Heart and Skin to Skin

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings: smut, attempted sex

CG: Gamzee hadn’t stopped driving other than the one time a good while ago. He hoped that they were getting close to where Karkat was and more than that he hoped that Sollux would wake up soon.  
TA: Sollux stretched and then knocked on the dividing wall between them, loud enough for Gamzee to hear.  
CG: Gamzee heard the knock and instantly slowed the hoofbeasts down and then stopped them. "Yeah Solbro?" he called through the wood.  
TA: "I need to stop..." he groaned through the wall.  
CG: Gamzee gave a small nod to himself. "Alright I will be back there in just a sec." he said and quickly hopped down and headed around to the back of the cart.  
TA: Sollux wriggled out of the blankets, he pulled off his shirt to try and cool down and wiped the sweat from his face.  
CG: Gamzee opened up the back and then climbed in. "You ok there Solbro?" he asked when he saw the other.  
TA: "Yeah, I just need to stop using my psiioniics, I'm r-really starting to overheat" he said then hissed as he realised he was still stuttering.  
CG: Gamzee nodded "Alright you can stop whenever you all up and need to Solbro." he said as he moved and kissed him and then wrapped himself around Sollux knowing that his much colder body would at least help a little.  
TA: Sollux made a small noise as Gamzee wrapped around him, he nuzzled his fevered forehead into Gamzee's exposed neck and purred as he felt the cold.  
CG: Gamzee smiled and then pulled back a bit for a moment to undress a bit so that Sollux would have more cool skin to press against.  
TA: Sollux took Gamzee's shirt off as quick as he could and hugged his bare torso, he panted lightly and kissed his skin.  
CG: Gamzee smiled and kissed the top of Sollux's had chuckling at Sollux's reaction.  
TA: Sollux hummed and closed his eyes, stopping his psiioniics and staying closely pressed to Gamzee.  
CG: Gamzee smiled and held Sollux close and continued to kiss his forehead and cheeks every now and then.  
TA: Sollux snuggled into him and breathed softly until he cooled down a bit more "Thanks" he kissed his cold skin again.  
CG: "Any time Solbro." he said happily and really just glad that he was able to help his matesprit at all.  
TA: He sat up a bit and rested his forehead on Gamzee's shoulder "I’ve got a killer headache"  
CG: Gamzee thought for a moment before he shifted Sollux around and started to massage his head in a way that he knew helped headaches.  
TA: Sollux purred and looked to Gamzee lovingly through half-lidded eyes.  
CG: Gamzee smiled at him and kissed his cheek. "I used to have to have this happen a lot as a wriggler."  
TA: He smirked "Same here, were yours because of your voodoos?"  
CG: "Yeah which is terrible because back then they would backfire a lot." he said and continued massaging.  
TA: "In what way?" he asked and then closed his eyes.  
CG: "Remember the time you first woke up next to me with the nightmares?" he asked keeping his voice soft.  
TA: "Yeah..." he said cautiously.  
CG: "Well it did the same kind of thing, but I would be awake, and it was about ten times worse because didn’t have any control over it at all."  
TA: He cupped his cheek with his warm hands "That sounds awful"  
CG: "Gamzee nodded but it all turned out alright as I learned." he said and smiled.  
TA: Sollux gave a small smile "Yeah, and I haven’t had any nightmares since then when I sleep with you"  
CG: "I learn fast." he said and kissed him.  
TA: Sollux kissed back happily, enjoying Gamzee's cooled lips and touch.  
CG: Gamzee continued to kiss Sollux as he slowly moved to remove the other's pants.  
TA: He shivered a bit as his hot skin met the colder air and Gamzee’s hands.  
CG: Gamzee smiled and pushed them all the way off before running his hand over the other's body slowly.  
TA: Sollux kept kissing him and moved so that his body was flush against Gamzee's.  
CG: Gamzee smiled and gently nipped his lower lip before moving his hand down and playfully squeezing Sollux's butt.  
TA: Sollux squeaked when he felt him and then combed through Gamzee's hair.  
CG: Gamzee laughed at the sound and then nuzzled into his neck placing soft kisses up and down it.  
TA: He purred and leaned his head up, wiping more sweat from his upper lip.  
CG: Gamzee shifted so he was laying on top of Sollux a bit more and wrapped himself around him as much as he could.  
TA: Sollux bent his legs up and around Gamzee's waist so he could be touching as much of his skin as he could.  
CG: Gamzee smiled and nipped Sollux's ear a bit. "Helping at all?"  
TA: He hummed and nodded "Yes, a lot. Thank you" he kissed his neck.  
CG: Gamzee smiled "Good." he said and nipped at his shoulder a little.  
TA: He licked softly at Gamzee's skin and nuzzled against him.  
CG: Gamzee smirked a bit and gave another small bite while shifting his hips against Sollux's at the same time.  
TA: Sollux made a small noise and wriggled underneath him.  
CG: Gamzee smiled and did it again but this time kissing where he had bitten last time.  
TA: Sollux shook his head and unravelled himself from the other, moving back a little.  
CG: Gamzee looked down at him. "Something wrong Solbro?" he asked in a completely innocent voice.  
TA: He moved away completely and sat up, "N-no its okay.... I just don’t wanna do any of that right now...I'm really sorry Gamzee."  
CG: Gamzee rolled his eyes. "I was really just teasing you Sollux." he said and kissed his nose. "I kinda figured that you all up and wouldn’t want it."  
TA: He smiled and kissed him, crawling up onto his lap.  
CG: Gamzee smiled and wrapped his arms around him. "Any idea how much farther we have to go before we get to Karbro?"  
TA: He snuggled up to him "Not far, probably only ten minutes or so"  
CG: Gamzee nodded. "Good." he said. "Just say when you are ready to go, and we can go.  
TA: "We can go now if you want, but can I sit up at the front with you?"  
CG: "Of course you can. But I only want to if you are feeling well enough to Solbro."  
TA: He nodded "I think I'm as well as I'm going to be"  
CG: Gamzee nodded and kissed him once again. "Alright then let’s get going."  
TA: He kissed back and smiled then grabbed his clothes and started pulling them on.  
CG: Gamzee got up and easily hopped out of the cart before putting on his shirt and then waited so he could help Sollux out.  
TA: Sollux shuffled to the edge after getting dressed and swung his legs over the side.  
CG: Gamzee lifted Sollux down and then headed around to the front of the cart so he could put him up in the seat.  
TA: He held onto him and kissed his cheek "Flushed for you"  
CG: "Flushed for you too." he said and kissed him as he helped him up and then climbed up next to him.  
TA: He smiled and sat down happily close to him "Now let’s go find KK and cull the bastard who took him." he said with a little more malice.  
CG: Gamzee chuckled at Sollux and nodded. "Right." He said and sent the hoofbeasts off at a fast trot, so they could get there fast.  
TA: He started to guide Gamzee in the direction that he remembered, trying not to use his psiioniics too much.  
CG: Gamzee followed Sollux's directions without question believing in him to be able to get them there.  
TA: Sollux took his glasses from his pocket and slid them on, continuing to direct him.  
CG: Gamzee smiled when he saw the glasses on Sollux. He liked how he looked in them.  
TA: He held onto his arm "I think we are here."  
CG: Gamzee slowed the hoofbeasts and then quickly hopped down from the cart and moved to help Sollux. "You’re sure that this is the place, right?"  
TA: Sollux clambered down with Gamzee’s help, "Honestly, no. I did what I could from memory really."  
CG: "That’s fine. I am sure that you are right and if not, we wait for you to recharge and then we continue."  
TA: He smirked and raised an eyebrow "Recharge?"  
CG: Gamzee shrugged. "I don’t all up and know what ya call it."  
TA: "Anything but that." he adjusted his glasses "Recover is probably a better word."  
CG: Gamzee chuckled. "Alright I will make sure not to use that from now on."  
TA: "Thank you" he kissed his cheek.  
CG: He kissed him back and then started to walk towards the place they were headed.  
TA: He walked with him and looked around, he couldn’t see much though, the area was just grass and a pond.  
CG: Gamzee moved forward. "I don’t see anything. Could we be just a little far behind where we need to be?"  
TA: "Maybe...I don’t know" he shoved his hands in his pockets and headed back to the cart as he looked at the floor.  
CG: Gamzee wrapped his arms around him. "I can find out if you want."  
TA: He nodded, "You'll probably do a better job than I did."  
CG: "Alright but it means that I would have to go through the bee that was guiding me. You are ok with that right?"  
TA: "Yeah just don't hurt her" he let a small blue spark come from one of his horns and the bee came buzzing over to him.  
CG: "I will try not to." he said and then closed his eyes to focus.  
TA: Sollux just watched and kept a close link with the bee.  
CG: Gamzee pushed his way into the bee's mind carefully and started to dig around.  
TA: Sollux felt it through his connection and winced a little,  
CG: Gamzee hated to do it but he blocked Sollux a little so that he wouldn’t get hurt if anything happened.  
TA: He rolled his eyes and sulked back to the cart.  
CG: Gamzee spent about ten minutes in the bee's mind before pulling out and plopping onto the ground.  
TA: Sollux came over straight away "You alright?"  
CG: "Yeah just tired. Bee's think pans are all up and strange."  
TA: He held out his hand "Yeah, and don’t I know it" he smirked.  
CG: Gamzee smiled. "Alright well I all up and know where to go now."  
TA: Sollux nodded "Thanks"  
CG: Gamzee nodded. "Just get me something to drink please and then we can go."  
TA: Sollux plodded round to the back of the cart and hauled himself up, he looked around the sacs of food for something to drink.  
CG: Gamzee stayed where he was and just laid back, so he could rest for a minute.  
TA: He came back out a few minutes later with a bottle of water and crouched next to him, passing him the bottle.  
CG: Gamzee smiled up at him. "Thanks, Solbro." he said and chugged half of the bottle in one breath.  
TA: "Whoa slow down there" he chuckled.  
CG: "Ah don’t worry Sol I can drink a hole one of this without stoppin easy." he said and grinned up at Sollux.  
TA: "Yeah I don’t doubt that, it’s just that I don’t want to have to burp you like a wriggler afterwards"  
CG: Gamzee laughed. "I don’t all up and need to be burped Sol." he said and moved to kiss him.  
TA: He kissed back and then sat down on his chest.  
CG: Gamzee smiled up at him. "You look great from this angle."  
TA: Sollux smirked and arched his back "Do I?"  
CG: "Yep though those clothes do get in the way of my view." he said teasingly,  
TA: Sollux chuckled and lifted his shirt a little, running his fingers over his own skinny body and gazing down at Gamzee.  
CG: Gamzee smiled. "Sol I am only givin ya one warnin. You do that and I aint gonna care how close we are to finding Karbro or that we are in the woods."  
TA: "Hm?" Sollux bit his lip and slipped his hand down his own pants with a teasing smile.  
CG: Gamzee chuckled. "I warned ya." He said before quickly flipping them over and pinning Sollux to the ground.  
TA: He made a small noise and looked up at him, giggling and rubbing himself a little.  
CG: Gamzee kissed him deeply and then quickly moved to remove Sollux's pants.  
TA: He kissed back and nibbled on Gamzee's bottom lip, his fingers making their way to his own damp nook.  
CG: Gamzee removed Sollux's pants and then he easily pushed his own down before pulling Sollux's hand away and up so he could pin the hands together.  
TA: Sollux's bulge slithered out and he spread his legs open, shivering a little in the cold afternoon air.  
CG: Gamzee made small possessive marks on Sollux's neck before he slowly started to push in his bulge already fully unsheathed.  
TA: Sollux moaned quietly as he felt the familiar feeling of Gamzee's bulge starting to push into him. He smiled mischievously and tightened his nook to make it a little more difficult for the other.  
CG: Gamzee groaned at the feeling and nipped Sollux's ear a bit as he pushed a bit harder to get in knowing that Sollux was just doing this to be a pill.  
TA: He gasped as he felt him nip him and then let himself loosen, rolling his hips up to Gamzee's.  
CG: Gamzee smiled and kissed him as he quickly pushed all the way in once Sollux loosened up.  
TA: He moaned loudly into the kiss as Gamzee's warm bulge filled him "Fucking hell..."  
CG: Gamzee moaned he loved how Sollux always felt so good.  
TA: Sollux tugged him down by his hair and kissed him desperately.  
CG: Gamzee kissed back instantly and started to thrust deeply into Sollux.  
TA: He moaned and yelped with every thrust and kept kissing Gamzee, biting and nipping his lips.  
CG: Gamzee kissed back and would nip almost every time that Sollux did.  
TA: Sollux pushed his hands under Gamzee's shirt and clawed at the skin, wanting to mark him in every way he could.  
CG: Gamzee shifted and started to kiss and bite along Sollux’s neck making as many marks as he could.  
TA: He called out to him and leaned his head back.  
CG: Gamzee smiled and kissed down the front of his throat before giving a soft bite and then kissing along his jaw. "Flushed for you." he said as he started to thrust faster.  
TA: He smiled at the small jab of pain that the bite brought and then gasped as Gamzee moved faster "F-flushed for you too..."  
CG: Gamzee smiled and moved to kiss Sollux fully.  
TA: He kissed back eagerly and then sent a small pulse of psiioniics through the kiss.  
CG: Gamzee shivered at the feel and smiled. "Damn Solbro you are still as shocking as ever." he said playfully.  
TA: "I sure fucking hope so" he smirked and trailed his hand down past his own curling bulge to Gamzee's, he grazed the base as the other thrusted into him and let another shock travel through his fingertips.  
CG: Gamzee gasped in pure pleasure at the feeling of what Sollux was doing. "Fuck Sol....Keep doin that."  
TA: Sollux positioned his hand so that it was around Gamzee's bulge as he moved into his nook, sending steady shocks and wailing as he felt his own psiioniics inside him.  
CG: Gamzee moaned out loudly not even caring if there was anyone or anything around that could hear him. His thrusts got faster and faster with each pleasing shock of the psiioniics.  
TA: He tucked his fingers back as far as he could reach and pulsed the energy into Gamzee's nook, trying to please him as much as he could.  
CG: Gamzee moaned out and before he knew it his head tilted back, and he moaned out loudly as he came.  
TA: Sollux gasped in surprise at the hot material filling him and coating his hand.  
CG: Gamzee shook a bit as he came and once he finished he gave a small curse. "Fuck, Sorry Solbro."  
TA: Sollux panted and stopped his psiioniics "N-no its okay, I wanted you to" he smiled.  
CG: Gamzee smiled and kissed him lovingly.  
TA: He kissed back breathlessly and then pulled away. Sollux brought his fingers to his mouth and started to lick off Gamzee's cum.  
CG: Gamzee sat back a bit and chuckled when he saw what Sollux was doing.  
TA: He sucked on his fingers and licked until his hand was clean, looking up at Gamzee as he did.  
CG: As soon as the hand was clean Gamzee moved forward and kissed Sollux deeply and gently cupped his cheek.  
TA: He kissed back happily and stroked his hair.  
CG: Gamzee soon pulled back. "You should get dressed so we can go."  
TA: Sollux nodded and sat up "You taste amazing by the way" he purred.  
CG: Gamzee smiled. "Not nearly as good as you do Sol." he said and kissed him once more before moving to fix his pants.  
TA: He smirked and moved back so that Gamzee could move around more and he pulled up his own pants.  
CG: Gamzee then stood up and moved to help Sollux up as well. "Ready to go?"  
TA: Sollux got up "Yeah, you know where we are going right?"  
CG: Gamzee nodded. "Yep. Got it all up here in my thinkpan." he said tapping his head lightly.  
TA: He smiled "Well I'm glad someone does" he took his hand and started to get to the cart, walking close to Gamzee, "I can't believe you got away with fucking me outdoors in the middle of nowhere" he chuckled.  
CG: Gamzee laughed. "You started it Solbro. Just remember that much." he said as he went to get into the cart.  
TA: He laughed too "Yeah, I didn’t think you were actually gonna pin me down and do it"  
CG: Gamzee chuckled. "I did warn you about it Solbro." he said and helped Sollux up into the cart so they could drive off.  
TA: He scrambled up and sat in the seat "Yeah and now I probably have grass stains on my ass" he said with a smirk.  
CG: Gamzee laughed. "Just a bit more colour for your wonderful body." he said playfully.  
TA: Sollux curled up to him and winced a little as he brought his legs up "Well between you marking me and other highbloods beating me up it is a rarity to see a solid patch of grey on my body these days." He said with a small smile.  
CG: Gamzee laughed a bit and then started the hoofbeasts off at a slow run since they still had a way to go before reaching where they needed to get to.  
TA: Sollux sat and leaned against Gamzee as they started their journey.  
CG: Gamzee wrapped an arm around Sollux for a moment and then focused on steering the hoofbeasts.  
TA: Sollux watched the scenery go by as they drove. 

Rufioh had long since finished his food and was now sitting by the warmth of the fire with Karkat.  
CG: Karkat had finished his food as well and had even eaten a little of the fruit that had been there and was now leaning happily against Rufioh. He loved how peaceful it was right then.  
TA: Rufioh kept his arm protectively around Karkat and sat on the grass enjoying the quiet.  
CG: Karkat nuzzled into Rufioh a bit. "I never thought that anyplace could be this peaceful."  
TA: Rufioh petted his hair, "No one knows we are here, so no one disturbs us"  
CG: Karkat nodded. "Yeah but honestly this is the first time that I have ever felt truly calm in a long time. The first time that I am not worried about being attacked."  
TA: Rufioh smiled "Aren’t you glad I took you here now?"  
CG: "I don’t know if it’s the place that makes it like this." Karkat murmured softly.  
TA: He didn't hear him properly "You're gonna have to speak up, dog"  
CG: Karkat looked up at him and then shook his head. "It’s nothing. I was just thinking out loud a bit."  
TA: He shrugged it off and swayed with him a little.  
CG: Karkat smiled and relaxed even more with the soothing movement.  
TA: Rufioh hummed softly in his ear.  
CG: Karkat soon gave a soft laugh. "This feel just like my 4th wriggling day." he said with a smile on his face.  
TA: He chuckled "You remember that? I snuck in without Crabdad noticing"  
CG: "Yeah and then the next morning he found you there." he said laughing a bit more. "I will never forget his reaction."  
TA: "No joke, I actually thought he was goin' to cull me....and I hadn't even done anything that bad!" he protested.  
CG: Karkat laughed. "Yeah but you did bring that god-awful drink that made me puke most of the night." he said  
TA: "Hey!" he laughed "I started drinking at 4 and I figured it was a good time for you to start too"  
CG: "Maybe but you didn’t even tell me what the crap was!" he said laughing  
TA: He shook his head and sniggered. "I remember afterwards, helping you out your back window into the back garden.... I lit a fire like this one and you insisted I tell you stories all night long...." he twirled Karkat's hair "And I also remember thinking 'This kid is persistent.... he betta fall asleep soon cos I'm running out of stories'" Rufioh chuckled.  
CG: Karkat smiled. "Yeah it was nice. I don’t even remember when I fell asleep that night." He said seeing it all in his mind "I actually remember Crabdad freaking out later in the morning not just because you where there but because of what he thought that you had done something that you never would have done, or at least I like to believe you wouldn’t."  
TA: "Nah... you were only 4 I didn’t even think of doing anything.... your old man had nothin' to worry about."  
CG: "I know that but he didn’t." he said and nuzzled into Rufioh again. "It took me a week to get him to calm down about it."  
TA: "heh, no wonder he didn't like me.... probably thought I was sneaking in all the time to mess around with you" he grinned and tickled him a little.  
CG: Karkat squeaked when he was tickled and moved away a bit. "Don’t do that. You know that I am very ticklish." he said with a playful growl.  
TA: "uh huh" Rufioh smiled wide and tickled him again.  
CG: Karkat squeaked again and moved to try to get away. "Stop!"  
TA: Rufioh laughed and got closer, tickling him a little more before holding his arms up "Okay, okay"  
CG: Karkat laid here laughing for a moment longer before moving quick and tackling Rufioh.  
TA: Rufioh growled and laughed, a little surprised by Karkat's actions.  
CG: Karkat growled back a bit though he had a grin on his face. "I wonder if your skills have dulled at all." he said remembering how they would play when he they were younger.  
TA: He shook his head "They've gotten better my boy" Rufioh pushed Karkat a little and steadied himself in a crouch.  
CG: Karkat chuckled and got himself in his old position that he always used. "I don’t believe it." he said before once again lunging at Rufioh but this time he didn’t do it to tackle him.  
TA: Rufioh caught Karkat's hand and fell backwards.  
CG: Karkat let out a startled sound as he was pulled off balance when the other fell.  
TA: Rufioh pulled his arm up to make Karkat fall and quickly caught him by his waist, supporting him at arm’s length above him.  
CG: Karkat laughed and hit Rufioh's arms. "You are such a cheater Rufioh!" he said looking turning his head to look at the other  
TA: "Karkat Vantas! I would never cheat against you!" he held Karkat easily above him and gazed up.  
CG: "You are a fucking liar!" He said as he moved quickly so that he would get out of Rufioh's hold.  
TA: He laughed and brought his arms down as Karkat wriggled out of them.  
CG: Karkat smiled as he landed on the ground. "You ready to admit that you are a cheater?"  
TA: Rufioh snarled and sprung on him "Never!"  
CG: Karkat growled playfully and worked to get Rufioh pinned to the ground.  
TA: Rufioh bore his teeth and ruffled with Karkat a bit before going easy on him and letting him pin him down. "Oh no, you got me" he said sarcastically.  
CG: Karkat laughed. "You are never going to be able to do anything if you just give up like that." he said rolling his eyes as he was able to pin down Rufioh since he knew that the other had let him.  
TA: He shrugged "The mighty redbloods will rule us all in the end" he said quietly, hoping Kankri wouldn’t hear his mocking.  
CG: Karkat rolled his eyes and playfully hit the other. "Not quite. I will be the one who will rule. Kankri seems a bit to kind-hearted." he said still smiling.  
TA: "heh, you clearly haven’t see him on a bad day" he smirked "Karkat Vantas....Grand LOWblood" he laughed.  
CG: Karkat blinked for a second before he burst out in laughter at that. "Fuck Rufioh where do you come up with that crap?" he asked practically laying on Rufioh as his body shook with laughter.  
TA: As Rufioh laughed his chest bobbed up and down and he gently placed a hand on Karkat's back.  
CG: Karkat continued to laugh until he heard some kind of commotion happening in a different part of the camp.  
TA: Rufioh groaned and sat up, holding Karkat close to his chest "What is it now?"  
CG: Karkat looked towards the commotion though he couldn’t see anything. "I don’t know......We should go see what it is."  
TA: Rufioh thought about it, he didn’t want Karkat in any trouble but he also knew he would want to see. "Alright but don’t get involved okay?" he stood up with him in his arms still.  
CG: Karkat nodded. "Alright I can do that." he said and actually meant it, if there really was going to be trouble there wouldn’t be much that he could do about it. Gamzee had arrived close to the camp and had stopped the hoofbeasts before continuing on foot with Sollux so of course as soon as he was spotted everyone started to freak out.


	8. Disturbing the Colony

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings: Violence, bodily harm, and dramaaaaa

TA: Rufioh held Karkat close and started to walk to where everyone was. Sollux got in front of Gamzee and prepared his psiioniics "I'm gonna take a chance and guess that these guys don't like Highbloods"  
CG: Gamzee knew that it was the truth. "I don’t care if they start a fight I will finish it." he said and moved to stand more beside Sollux. Karkat frowned as they started to get closer. "What’s going on over there?" he asked Rufioh.  
TA: "I dunno" Rufioh placed Karkat on his shoulders and pushed through the crowd of lowbloods. Some were panicking but most were readying weapons of sorts. Sollux walked further towards the camp "We aren’t specifically looking to massacre an entire colony of allies today remember" he directed to Gamzee.  
CG: Karkat held onto Rufioh's horns so he wouldn’t fall backwards as they got closer to the excitement. Gamzee rolled his eyes. "Yeah I know that and I never said that I was planning on cullin any of them."  
TA: Rufioh wasn’t tall enough to see over the commotion but Karkat was being held over and above the other trolls. Sollux turn to talk to Gamzee. "Yeah, I know, I'm just making sure"  
CG: Karkat gasped. "Sollux?" he said when he saw the two of them. "Rufioh its Sollux and Gamzee." he said shifting so that Rufioh could hear him clearly. Gamzee growled at some of the closer trolls that were already there with weapons.  
TA: Rufioh pushed forward to see and then immediately turned back and started to run further into the camp. Sollux let his hands and eyes buzz, growling and snarling at those surrounding him.  
CG: The sudden speed almost caused Karkat to fall back. "Rufioh! What are you doing?" he asked holding on tightly so he wouldn’t fall. Gamzee eyes glowed. "We are only lookin for two motherfuckers. Point them out to us and we aint gonna and all up and do nothin to the rest of ya."  
TA: "I won’t let them near you...." Rufioh ran to his tent and brought Karkat down "I won’t let him use you again." he said seriously. One of the lowbloods brought a large branch down on Sollux, he stopped it just before it hit him and broke it into splinters with his powers. "Fuck off, we just want Karkat and Rufioh!"  
CG: Karkat looked at Rufioh. "But Gamzee will hurt them so long as Sollux wants to get to me." he said and started to get up from where he had been set down. "If I just explain everything to Sollux I can stop all of this." Gamzee growled and threw a troll against a tree as it tried to strike him and another that was coming up on Sollux as well. His teeth were bared but he didn’t use his voodoos just yet since there wasn’t a direct need for them.  
TA: Rufioh shook his head "I don’t care, you’re more important." he grabbed Karkat and held him tightly. Sollux's main aim was to get through the crowd. He stormed though, shocking and clawing at any troll who got in his way without a second thought.  
CG: Karkat didn’t fight against Rufioh when he held him. He was silent for a minute before he just shifted and pulled Rufioh closer to himself and onto the bed a bit. Gamzee followed right behind Sollux to make sure that no one would be able to attacked him from behind at all. And if anyone tried they instantly went flying.  
TA: Rufioh sat on the bed and rocked him gently, humming in his ear to try and drown out the screams and noise from outside. Sollux growled loudly and didn't say a word about what Gamzee was doing. He just kept pushing and forcing the crowd out the way. As soon as he was out of the main clump he grabbed the nearest lowblood by the throat and hissed, his eyes sparking "Where. Is. Karkat."  
CG: Karkat nuzzled into Rufioh and listened to the sound of his humming and nothing else for the time being. It was relaxing and it filled his mind until he didn’t think of anything else. The lowblood's eyes widened and he tried to pry the hand off his throat. "Y-you’re a lowblood......Wh-Why fight with him?" he gasped out and glared at Gamzee.  
TA: Rufioh stroked his hair and kept humming, he didn’t know what else to do and he knew he would have to fight soon. Brown tears pricked in his eyes. Sollux just tightened his grip and snarled in his face "Because he's my matesprit, and we've been through some pretty fucked up shit."  
CG: Karkat felt the tears and nuzzled into Rufioh. "Don’t fight them Rufioh....Please don’t." he said softly as he held onto him tightly. He really didn’t want to lose him at all. The lowblood winced as the grip tightened "R- Ruf - Rufioh...." he forced out while Gamzee continued to fight off the lowbloods that came too close.  
TA: He held him close, not ever wanting to let go. "I won’t let them hurt you. I promise, Karkat I won’t let them take you from me" he cried. Sollux started to lift the lowblood off the ground as he spoke "Where is he? Spit it out or I'll snap your useless neck."  
CG: Karkat held him tightly. "I won’t ever leave you again Rufioh. I won’t let it happen. I won’t." he said and shifted so he was more in Rufioh's lap and held onto him tighter. The lowblood kicked a bit as he tried to get air to breathe. "North tent." he gasped out with the last breath that he really had, his eyes starting to shut and his body relax more and more by the second.  
TA: Rufioh rested his forehead on Karkat's and wiped away his own tears. "Karkat...?" he whispered. Sollux dropped the lowblood as soon as he told him and stormed off to the north side of the camp. His psiioniics in full use and his heart very much in the right place.  
CG: Karkat looked up at Rufioh when he heard his name. "Yeah?" he asked a little bit worried about what Rufioh was going to say since he had no idea what it was going to be about. The lowblood instantly started to cough as his body tried to rapidly take in far too much air at once. Gamzee followed after Sollux easily.  
TA: He looked down to him and took in every detail his face and being. Rufioh cupped his cheek gently and forced a small smile, he spoke with a hushed, calm tone. Sollux stood outside the tent and readied himself, he could see the two silhouettes through the fabric. Rufioh blinked a couple times to stop himself from crying again. "I'm flushed for you, Karkat..."  
CG: Karkat leaned into the hand a little but didn’t stop looking up at Rufioh's face. When he heard the other's words his face showed his surprise. It stayed like that for a moment for two before he smiled. "I’m flushed for you too." he said softly before moving to kiss him softly. Gamzee stopped right beside Sollux and waited for him to move to go in.  
TA: Rufioh's heart fluttered with his wings and he closed his eyes, kissing back gently. Sollux nearly ripped the tent flap from its stitching as he tore it open. He didn’t even think or having time to comprehend what he walked into before he shot a psiioniic blast directly at Rufioh's back.  
CG: Karkat jumped when he heard the sound of the tent being ripped open and before he could even think about it he pulled back from the kiss and jerked Rufioh so that the blast wouldn’t hit him but in turn it hit himself on the left shoulder to the middle of his back and down his arm. He cried out in pain and landed on the ground after rolling off of the bed.  
TA: "KARKAT!" Sollux yelled and started to run to him. It took just a second for Rufioh to realise what had happened and he swung round and grabbed Sollux before he could go any further. He held the yellowblood's head and quickly slammed it into the metal frame of the bed.  
CG: Karkat shook on the ground in pain. "Ru-Rufioh." he called his voice straining around the pain and red tears streaming down his face. He wanted this to stop before someone else got hurt. Gamzee of course instantly stepped in to defend his matesprit teeth barred threateningly.  
TA: Rufioh didn’t care about Gamzee and turned swiftly to pick up Karkat, being careful not to touch the burns. "Sh... Shh.... I'm here, I'm not going to leave you" he said quietly, holding him to his chest. Sollux lay limp on the floor after being knocked out.  
CG: Karkat nuzzled into Rufioh. "I-It hurts." he said trying to find comfort and relief with Rufioh. Gamzee wanted to attack Rufioh for what he had done but he also needed to make sure that Sollux was alright and that was his top priority. "Sollux!" he said as he went to check on him.  
TA: "I know, I know.... shh..." Rufioh kissed his forehead and then made a run for the opening of the tent. Sollux twitched a little, psiioniic sparks still coming from him.  
CG: Gamzee lifted him in his arms and held him close. "Get back here!" He shouted at Rufioh as he ran past but with Sollux there he wasn’t able to stop him. Gamzee cursed and picked Sollux up and instantly started away not going to let him stay there and be hurt again.  
TA: Rufioh ran and carried Karkat to the tent where the nurses were. There was already a large group of trolls in there being treated for the damage Sollux and Gamzee caused. Rufioh laid Karkat down on a spare bed on his front and stroked his hair. Sollux made a small noise and started to wake up.  
CG: Karkat's body trembled and his breath was even shakier than his body and it wasn’t long before he cried out and clutched at his abdomen in pain tears streaming down his face rapidly. Gamzee let out a small breath when he saw Sollux waking up. "Solbro? Can you hear me?"  
TA: "Karkat..." Rufioh whimpered as nurses and doctors surrounded him. They laid freezing cold packs on Karkat's burns and made him sit up on his knees. Rufioh kept a firm grip on his hand the whole time. Sollux blinked a few times and brought his hand to his head "G-Gamzee?"  
CG: Karkat held onto Rufioh as best as he could while the nurses did their job and moved him around. He continuously let out whimpers and whines at the pain everywhere. Gamzee let out a relieved sigh. "Thank messiahs you’re alright." he said truly relieved about it.  
TA: One of the doctors held Karkat's mouth open and forced medicine down his throat, not wasting anytime asking. Sollux looked up at Gamzee, suddenly remembering what happened "K-Karkat...?!"  
CG: Karkat acted like he was going to spit it up, and he probably would have if Rufioh hadn’t been right there to calm him down enough for him to swallow it. Gamzee held Sollux tight. "I’m sorry Solbro. Rufioh ran off with him in his arms. I would have stopped him but I was all up and too worried that he might have hurt you too much."  
TA: The medicine was a painkiller and once Karkat swallowed it the doctors got to work attending to his wounds. Rufioh just tried to comfort him the best he could. Sollux shook his head "I shot him..."  
CG: Karkat soon started to relax once the painkillers took effect and though his body seemed to tense and then relax a bit that slowly became less and less until it stopped all together and he was able to relax. Gamzee shook his head. "No Solbro. He moved so that he was in the way of the blast." he said since he had been able to see it all much more clearly than Sollux had.  
TA: After a while the doctors and nurses did everything they could do. They told the pair they would be back to check on Karkat later before they left to treat other patients. Rufioh sat up on the bed and brought Karkat into his lap. Sollux started to cry, both because he was angry and because he was heartbroken.  
CG: Karkat leaned against Rufioh the painkillers coming close to knocking him out like they normally seemed to do. He wasn’t sure why they worked like that but they did. Gamzee held Sollux close and wiped away his tears. "Shhh...Shh its ok Solbro. We will find him again."  
TA: Rufioh held him and cried quietly into his shoulder. Sollux's body shook and he cried hysterically against Gamzee. "N-no... He’s better off without me now..."  
CG: Karkat nuzzled gently into Rufioh's shoulder. "I....I think you owe me another kiss." he said teasingly in his half-asleep state. Gamzee looked at Sollux. "That’s not true Karbro does need you Solbro. You’re his moirail."  
TA: Rufioh sniffed and smiled a little "I think I owe you a lot more than that." he leaned in and kissed him again softly. Sollux fidgeted "Gamzee, put me down please"  
CG: Karkat kissed him back instantly and happily. "Maybe but I will settle for this right now." he said before kissing him again. Gamzee frowned a little but did what the other asked and gently put him down.  
TA: Rufioh savoured the kiss, it was something he had wanted to do for so long. Sollux wiped some of the blood off his head and whimpered a bit. "Go and find Karkat...please Gamzee"  
CG: Karkat wrapped his good arm around Rufioh's neck gently and held him close happy that he was at least ok. Gamzee nodded. "Alright Solbro but to get him back to ya I will probably have to control those around him a bit."  
TA: Rufioh snuggled him and kissed his forehead "Get some sleep kid.... everything will be alright" he rocked him slowly. Sollux nodded "I don’t care, just don’t hurt Karkat or Kankri"  
CG: Karkat nodded and leaned nuzzled into Rufioh as he closed his eyes to try and get some rest. Gamzee nodded and kissed Sollux's forehead. "Alright I will be back with him as soon as I can." he said and got up to go.  
TA: Rufioh hummed close to his ear and kissed his cheek gently every now and then. Sollux nodded and rubbed his eyes.  
CG: Karkat smiled a bit and listened to the humming which helped him relax a good deal. Gamzee left the tent and instantly started to use his voodoos to try and find where Karkat was.  
TA: Rufioh kept trying to calm him down and stroked his hair. Sollux stood up and brushed himself down, he waited until Gamzee left and then got up to leave himself.  
CG: Gamzee moved through the camp silently and doing his best to not be seen so that no one would be able to run a head and say that he was coming. Karkat purred a bit as he relaxed happily in Rufioh's arms.  
TA: Rufioh cradled him and made sure not to touch the burns. Sollux left the tent and then made his way in the opposite direction to Gamzee.  
CG: Gamzee soon found the medical tent that they were all in and carefully started to push into all the troll's minds that were in there so he would be able to take Karkat without any problems.  
TA: Rufioh felt the awful familiar feeling of his think pan being messed with and looked around frantically. Sollux wandered around and snuck out of the camp.  
CG: Gamzee slowly pushed more trying to send everyone into a kind of sleep like trance where they wouldn’t notice him at all.  
TA: Rufioh felt himself slip into the trance and tried his best to fight it the same way he tried to fight Mindfang's powers. It wasn’t really working and he looked down at Karkat.  
CG: Karkat who had already been relaxed to begin with was already in the trance brought on by Gamzee's voodoos. Once Gamzee felt like he had control over everyone in there he stepped in and looked around for Karkat.  
TA: There wasn’t much that Rufioh could do, he was fighting and resisting against him as much as he could.  
CG: Gamzee smiled a bit when he saw Karkat in Rufioh's arms. 'Bring him here motherfucker!' he sent straight into Rufioh's mind and used his voodoos to force him to do it.  
TA: Rufioh growled and stayed where he was, his body itching to move up and do what Gamzee was telling him.  
CG: Gamzee grinned and added more force to his commands and what he was trying to force Rufioh to do.  
TA: He was forced to stand up, Karkat still in his arms "He doesn't belong with you..."  
CG: "Maybe not but he belongs with his motherfuckin Moirail." Gamzee growled and worked on forcing Rufioh to walk over to him.  
TA: "And what about me? He's my matesprit. That moirail of his shot him in the back." He walked forward slowly.  
CG: Gamzee growled. "SOLLX DIDN’T FUCKING SHOOT HIM! HE MOVED IN FRONT OF THE BLAST!"  
TA: "TO PROTECT ME." he snarled and tried to resist, shaking a little "He wants to be here"  
CG: "Only because you are manipulating him" Gamzee growled since that was really what he believed.  
TA: "NO! I would never do something like that!" he shook his head, not wanting to believe it.  
CG: "He was all set to come here with Sol and I and then as soon as you come along you talk him out of it and fly off with him." Gamzee growled continuing to force Rufioh closer to him.  
TA: "Because he listened to me, he knows as well as I do that YOU are not welcome here. Fucking stupid highbloods like you don’t deserve to be around trolls like Karkat." He walked forward, his head thumping.  
CG: "I am his motherfucking friend. I saved his sorry ass from Dualscar’s palace on my fucking own." Gamzee growled becoming really pissed off at Rufioh, though that shouldn’t be a surprise.  
TA: "Probably only on the request of your fucktoy." he said, knowing it would piss the other off.  
CG: Gamzee growled and sent a strong wave of voodoos at Rufioh which would instantly make him start seeing horrible things everywhere.  
TA: He screamed out and whimpered, becoming paranoid about what was around him. "Y-you just can't face it huh? you’re using him"  
CG: "That’s a fucking lie!" Gamzee shouted and it was about then that Karkat was able to break loose of the control having had experience with stronger voodoos and the fact that almost all Gamzee's attention was of Rufioh. He saw what was happening and before he could really think about it he dug his claws into Rufioh's shoulder knowing that the pain would help him fight the control that Gamzee had.  
TA: Rufioh felt the pain in his shoulder and was pulled back into reality a little. He held Karkat tightly and stopped walking. "No, its not! Karkat wants to be here"  
CG: Karkat was still influenced so he could hear the conversation and help Rufioh a little like he had but he couldn’t do much else. "He only says that because you fucking make him think that it is the only thing he can do."  
TA: "That’s because it is...this is the only safe place for him, away from your powers and his sorry excuse for a moirail...." Rufioh growled and took a few steps back.  
CG: Gamzee put more voodoos towards Rufioh not understanding how he was able to resist so much. "Sollux is the best fucking moirail anyone can have!" Gamzee snapped and started to move forwards toward Rufioh now.  
TA: "Where was he when I left with Karkat, or when he fought with Nepeta, talked to Kankri for the first time? Karkat had your ancestor's waste pulled out of him while he was still awake and your little brat was nowhere to be seen to comfort him"  
CG: "BECAUSE YOU FUCKING TOOK HIM AWAY SO WE COULDNT FUCKING BE THERE! Karkat wanted to fucking talk to you alone for a few minutes so like a good moirail he let him and then you run off with him. Sollux spent that entire fucking time worried about him and fighting to find him so he could be with him again."  
TA: "I didn’t run off with him, he wanted to leave.... I showed him that you two were too busy in your fake relationship to care about him and we left. WITH HIS CONSENT." Rufioh didn’t let go of Karkat and showed no signs of being under Gamzee's control anymore.  
CG: "I doubt that is how it went. I know that Karkat's emotions have been crazier than usual lately. I have fucking seen it on several accounts it is easy to use that against him."  
TA: "That's because he is pregnant, everything he and the grub needs is here.... he doesn’t need you"  
CG: "No but he needs his moirail. The one that saved his fucking life and was there when YOU weren’t there for him."  
TA: "Then, where is he? Why isn’t he fighting for him like he should be"  
CG: "Because in case you fucking forgot you smashed his fucking head into a metal bed frame." he growled and lunged towards Rufioh.  
TA: Rufioh growled and turned around, hunching over Karkat and shielding him.  
CG: Gamzee hit Rufioh and instantly started to claw him away from Karkat so he could take him back to Sollux.  
TA: Rufioh held on with a tight grip and then took a deep breath, he turned around quickly so that one of Gamzee's claws sliced into Karkat instead.  
CG: Karkat gave a small cry out in pain as he was sliced and of course it broke him free of the voodoos but there still wasn’t much he could do with his current position.  
TA: Rufioh backed away and growled at Gamzee, he flapped his wings and hovered in the air.  
CG: Gamzee growled back. "He needs to be with Sollux." he growled as he moved to get closer to them.  
TA: Rufioh held Karkat tightly "He needs to be safe"  
CG: "And he will be with his moirail." Gamzee growled.  
TA: "Not if Sollux can’t control himself"  
CG: "He can fucking control himself. He does it all the time." he snarled and continued towards Rufioh.  
TA: "Are you telling me he's never hurt you before?" He moved back away from Gamzee.  
CG: "Not without meaning to." he said which was only a partial lie since the other times he himself had been the cause of it.  
TA: "He might hurt Karkat without meaning to too, I won’t allow that risk." He growled.  
CG: "The only time he hurt me was when he meant to since obviously you seemed to miss that bit."  
TA: "What kind of troll hurts his matesprit on purpose? Your relationship is unhealthy." he stated.  
CG: "The kind that is trying to help when the matesprit has some bad problems because of things that he can’t all up and control."  
TA: He sniggered "You can’t control yourself either. Unfortunately, we have no reason to help highbloods...."  
CG: Karkat clutched onto Rufioh a bit. "Rufioh nothing will change if everyone still turns on everyone." Karkat said softly while Gamzee growled and moved to get ready to attack again.  
TA: Rufioh looked down to him when he heard him speak and kissed his forehead lightly. "I'm just trying to get you away from him"  
CG: "Kankri wants to change everything he wants equality, right?" he said nuzzling into him a bit more.  
TA: "Of course he does" he nuzzled back.  
CG: "For that to happen we have to treat the highbloods the same way that we want them to treat us. Especially those that are willing to work with us."  
TA: He thought about it and nodded "okay, but If he hits me I'll hit back." he said sternly and lowered himself.  
CG: "Equality is what it is." he said and then shifted to look at Gamzee. "Gamzee so help me if you touch Rufioh I will not only let him hit you but I will kick your ass as well. Now where is Sollux?" he asked and Gamzee paused as if not sure if he was still going to attack or actually listen to Karkat.  
TA: Rufioh sat him up a little and continued to hold him, he snarled at Gamzee.  
CG: Gamzee grumbled, mainly because he knew that Karkat would do it. "Fine then let’s go. Sollux is back in the other tent."  
TA: Rufioh landed on the ground and walked out of the tent.  
CG: Gamzee led the way back to the tent that he had left Sollux in and Karkat nuzzled into Rufioh. "Flushed for you." he said softly.  
TA: "Flushed for you too" he said with a small smile and nuzzled him back, following Gamzee. Sollux was out of the camp by that time and had been walking for a while, he sat down and rested against a tree.  
CG: When they reached the tent Gamzee spoke as he went to enter. "Solbro I got Kar-" he cut off his sentence as he saw the empty tent.  
TA: Rufioh snarled "You said he was here."  
CG: Gamzee growled. "HE WAS!" He snapped and went to look around wondering if Sollux was just hiding. He then ran out of the tent. "SOLLUX!"  
TA: "Gamzee...If you are messing with me right now..." Rufioh walked out of the tent and looked around.  
CG: Karkat looked around. "He isn’t. Sollux wouldn’t let something like that happen." He said and Gamzee went around and started to check other tents.  
TA: Sollux curled up against the tree and tried his best not to cry again. "Where would he go?" Rufioh asked.  
CG: "I don’t know. Something is wrong." he said and started to squirm to get out of Rufioh's arms. "SOLLUX" Karkat shouted almost completely in time with Gamzee's.  
TA: He let him go "Just be careful" Rufioh warned.  
CG: Karkat nodded and took off in a direction continuously calling for his moirail while Gamzee continued to search at the same time.  
TA: Rufioh started looking around too "What if he's not in the camp?"  
CG: "Then where the fuck would he be?!" Gamzee shouted tearing through yet another tent.  
TA: "I don’t know?!" he yelled back "You saw him last"  
CG: Karkat came back over to Rufioh after a bit more searching. "Gamzee search with your voodoos." he said and Gamzee paused at the words.  
TA: Rufioh nodded "Yeah he couldn't have gone far.... there shouldn’t be a problem with it, right?"  
CG: "I would need a direction otherwise I will spread myself too thin and may not be able to go far enough." he said and punched a nearby tree in frustration.  
TA: "Well we need to do something...." Rufioh started, Kankri stormed up to him, looking considerably angry. "I leave for an hour, come back and everyone here is telling me you brought a highblood into our camp?"  
CG: Karkat growled and instantly marched up to Kankri placing himself directly between Rufioh and the older mutant. "Shut it ass wipe. This is all your fucking fault in the first place." He growled and advanced towards Kankri in the first place. "You preach of fucking peace and equality but then you turn around and teach those who follow you to fear the highbloods and to not accept any fucking help from those that actually want to give it. There shouldn’t be a fucking problem if there is a highblood in this fucking camp." he growled out barring his fangs. If one thing could always be said about Karkat it was that he spoke his mind and he was loyal to his friends and those that he cared about.  
TA: Kankri snarled and nearly barked at him, he balled his fists and tried to steady his breathing. "There would have been no problem of the Highblood coming into the camp if it weren't for the fact that he purposefully hurt the trolls here and used his powers to manipulate others. Not to mention the fact that he brought a psiioniic with him who is /clearly/ unstable. And don't you DARE question my teachings, they are the very same ways that were taught to me and to the Signless."  
CG: Karkat snarled at him. "You better be careful of how you speak about /that psiioniic/ because he is my moirail and so help me I will not hesitate to rip that tongue out of your mouth if you disrespect him in anyway." He snarled getting in the other's face. "And the only reason that they attacked had to be because your IDIOTS were attacking first. I saw them getting weapons of any kind as soon as they spotted Sollux and Gamzee." he hissed at Kankri. "So, I WILL question these."  
TA: He bore his fangs "Karkat. My people are scared and they have every right to be, Highbloods have been terrorizing us all our lives so do you really blame the trolls here for protecting themselves?! They aren’t idiots they are just wary. The psiioniic needs help, you can’t deny that. And as for you, I would HIGHLY recommend that you wise up and start showing some respect for those trying to help this ENTIRE RACE"  
CG: "Yeah a SINGLE unarmed Highblood with a young lowblood in fact //DOES NOT// need help at all enter a village that is supposed to be a safe place and are attacked. That isn’t peace I don’t give a fuck if it was the empress' own decedent that came walking into this camp. Everyone should be welcomed so long as they do not intend to harm anyone." He snapped. "And if you were really trying to help this entire race, you would fucking wise up and start preaching your crap in the proper way. You wouldn’t go out and purposefully make a commotion for the Highbloods to see. Because NEWS FUCKING FLASS ASSHOLE THAT JUST PISSES THEM OFF AND CAUSES MORE PEOPLE TO FUCKING DIE! You aren’t helping by doing that you are just becoming the fucking reason that hundreds are being culled daily."  
TA: Kankri growled and raised his hand before bringing it down and slapping Karkat hard across the face. "You are a disgrace to our blood line."  
CG: Karkat let out a small pained sound but didn’t go down at all and just stood tall and glared up at Kankri. "Try that again Kankri. Maybe one day you will be able to rule like the highblood do. Make them fear you and make them believe that they truly are lower than you." He said in a deathly calm voice and then in a fast move that he hadn’t used in a while he punched Kankri as hard as he could which was still pretty hard even in his.  
TA: Kankri didn’t make a sound but twisted his head as he was hit. He held his face and turned back to Karkat, rage filling his eyes. "GET OUT." Rufioh moved forward and grabbed Karkat's shoulders. "I don’t even care about the grub anymore, its not worth it. Just get out of here!" He yelled.  
CG: Karkat just laughed at Kankri "See Kankri this is exactly why you will end up exactly like the Signless. But the only difference is that you won’t last as long." Karkat turned around and took Rufioh's hand. "The highbloods already are able to track you. And not just where you have been but where you are going." He turned and looked at Kankri over his shoulder. "I suggest you start questioning those that you keep closest to you because fear makes everyone betray those that they believe in. And you.... Well you aren’t doing anything to help that fear at all." he said then turned and started to walk off again pulling Rufioh along with him.  
TA: "My followers will stand by me. And if I were you I would start worrying about the highbloods a lot more, you are carrying one after all." Kankri called to him before turning to walk away. Rufioh followed after Karkat "They'll be moving camp soon.... Karkat, I won’t know where they are..."  
CG: "Its fine Rufioh. Trust me you won’t want to be with them in a months’ time." He said as he kept walking. "I wasn’t lying to Kankri you know. The highbloods do have someone in the camp informing them of everything and Kankri refuses to believe it which in the end will only get him killed."  
TA: "Shouldn’t we try and save him? Karkat, he's our only chance to make things fair..."  
CG: Karkat sighed. "He won’t listen Rufioh. I know his type. At this point he thinks that the highbloods can’t touch him because they can’t find him. And so long as he believes that most of this camp will as well. So, in the end all it will do is cause more trouble if we do anything."  
TA: Rufioh squeezed his hand and made a small noise "But he's everything I believe in"  
CG: Karkat stopped walking and turned to face Rufioh. "I am flushed for you Rufioh I have been for a long time and I know that you don’t give your loyalty lightly. But this is the one time that I recommend that you stop giving it to someone because in the end he will only get you culled and I don’t want that to happen. You can still believe in the equality that he spoke about but his methods of getting there."  
TA: Rufioh listened to him carefully and then stroked his hair, kissing him gently. "I'm flushed for you too, and I understand where you are coming from.... I just hope he'll be okay" he looked back longingly at the camp.

CG: Karkat sighed. "I will try to figure something out so that they all will be. But it won’t be easy. I know the name of the troll who is spying for the highbloods but I know nothing else about him."  
TA: "Who is he? Will he even listen to you?"  
CG: "I honestly don’t know if he will listen. For all we know the Highbloods have promised him a lot more than I ever would be able to." He said and then looked at the camp "his name is Staide"  
TA: "I know you don't like him.... but Kankri can actually give us a fighting chance in equality" Rufioh said, running his thumb over Karkat's knuckles as he held his hand.  
CG: "I know that he can. But in order to do it he will have to change a lot." he said and leaned against Rufioh a little. "I may not know as much about the things that the Signless said like Kankri does but I know some of the things that he was able to cause."  
TA: "The Signless was a good troll.... he fought for what is right." Rufioh said.  
CG: "Yes that is very true.”


	9. Makeups and Breakups

CG: Now tell me how many spies do you think that Signless had to deal with in his time?"  
TA: "Either a lot because the highbloods were doing everything in their power to stop him.... or hardly any because he was mostly secretive"  
CG: Karkat smirked. "In total there was 150 spies that went to Signless and listened to him talk. All blueblood or higher."  
TA: Rufioh looked to him, surprised "How did he manage all of them?"  
CG: "He didn’t. In fact, not even one walked away injured at all. And more than that out of all of them only 3 ever reported anything to Empress. Every single one just walked into the camp, some armed and some not. And not a single one was ever stopped."  
TA: Rufioh was now looking confused "Did he threaten them?"  
CG: Karkat shook his head. "Nope and neither did any of the lowbloods that were around. In fact, there was even a highblood who heard him speaking that got angry and so the highblood attacked him. He took every hit without complaint and not one of his closest allies stepped in to stop the highblood all because he believed that if he just let the highblood have the few punches then calm down that things would be a lot better."  
TA: "Then how did he get so far in his quest?" Rufioh was becoming extremely interested.  
CG: "Because he and his followers all practiced the peace that he preached fully and not just to those who were oppressed but to those who did the oppressing as well. He made people think and that thinking most of the time led to the realization that he was right and that is why so many followed him and why he lasted so long, whereas Kankri, if he gets out of this one on his own, won’t last a sweep."  
TA: "Kankri is still learning....It can’t be easy, taking on a legacy like that....He's not like the Signless though, you're right with that...he just wants to prove himself because he probably thinks it’s his duty and all that....don’t tell him this but, from what I'm hearing now it sounds like you know the Signless' true nature more than Kankri does"  
CG: "You can learn a lot about a person when you listen to both sides that aren’t that person. I got to hear about him bit by bit from some of the spies that had listened to him, and from those that hunted him as well. Stories about him in places like Grand Highblood's and Dualscar's castles are quite popular."  
TA: He nodded "It was the same on Mindfang's ship, it's because he really changed things...maybe not as much as he set out to, but he changed things"  
CG: "He did and honestly I don’t think that what he changed can ever truly be changed back." Karkat pulled away from Rufioh a bit. "Let’s find Sollux and then we can work on seeking out this spy and see if we can’t get him to change his mind."  
TA: "Alright...where's his Lusus anyway?" he joked, referring to Gamzee.  
CG: Karkat chuckled and looked around. "Probably still looking or has already found him by now." He said and started off in the direction that he remembered Gamzee heading.  
TA: Rufioh followed him and kept an eye out. Sollux woke up, realising he had fallen asleep under the tree and then stood up, looking around and hoping no one was there.  
CG: Gamzee saw Sollux move and instantly ran over to him. "Sollux!" He shouted as he got close enough that Sollux would be able to see him as well.  
TA: Sollux looked up instantly and shook his head, running away from him and bolting around trees and bushes to try and throw Gamzee off.  
CG: Gamzee followed the sound of Sollux running. "Sollux stop. Karbro wants to see you." he shouted a head hoping that Sollux would stop.  
TA: He spun around to face Gamzee. "No, he doesn’t..." his voice was full of sadness and he turned around to start running again.  
CG: Gamzee caught up when Sollux stopped and he quickly Grabbed him. "Yes, he does Solbro. He even punched Kankri because of something he all up and said about you because he still cares about you."  
TA: He tried to shake free "Let me go! If he cared about me he wouldn't have left us without saying anything!"  
CG: Gamzee held Sollux tightly. "Think about it Solbro. He only left because Rufioh said something to him, took advantage of his unstable state and most likely he was thinking that he would keep you safe and happy when he left."  
TA: Sollux squirmed and then growled loudly at Gamzee "He doesn't need me anymore, he has you and Rufioh to keep him safe" He bent round and tried to bite him.  
CG: Gamzee didn’t let him go. "He doesn’t have me Sollux. That’s what you don’t get. The only reason I defend him at all is because he is your moirail. If it weren’t for that I would have just left him where he was." Gamzee was sure that saying that would make Sollux mad at him but he didn’t care he needed to hear it. "Sure, he has Rufioh now, but I already know that Rufioh won’t be able to calm him like you can."  
TA: Sollux hissed at him "After all this time and you still don’t care about him? Are you just keeping him safe to stay on my good side? He's happy with Rufioh, he was clearly able to keep him calm the past couple days considering they were fucking kissing when I stormed in and nearly killed them both!"  
CG: "I don’t do it to stay on your good side Sollux. Believe me it’s nothing like that. And it’s not exactly that I don’t care about him either. It’s just a complicated thing really." He said and sighed "And in case you hadn’t figured it out those two have become matesprits. Which really you should be congratulating him on since it is a pretty hard thing to get along with him that well."  
TA: "I am happy for them. That's why I'm leaving, I'm a danger to them both, Gamzee I'm losing control of it...my head keeps buzzing and I'm hearing voices all the time and it hurts, it really fucking hurts" Sollux relaxed in his arms "I don’t want to cause anyone anymore pain than I already have, now LET ME GO!!" he yelled and started struggling again  
CG: Karkat spotted the two of them and, releasing Rufioh's hand, he dashed over as fast as he could. "Sollux!" He called out moving through the bush as fast as he could. "See Solbro he does want to see you." Gamzee said holding onto Sollux a bit tighter so he couldn’t get away.  
TA: "NO" Sollux thrashed around and clawed at Gamzee "Let me go!" He shocked Gamzee with his psiioniics, not high enough of power to do any serious damage but enough to hurt bad.  
CG: Gamzee gritted his teeth against the psiioniics. "Sollux stop that!" Karkat yelled as he cleared the last distance and got in front of Sollux. "Sollux look at me and listen." He said trying to keep his voice calm.  
TA: He kept scratching and clawing at Gamzee "No, Karkat I'm n-not safe"  
CG: Karkat moved forward and placed a gentle hand on his cheek. "Sollux listen to me. You are safe. You are the safest troll to be around."  
TA: He pulled his head away "No..."  
CG: Karkat moved closer and ran a hand through Sollux's hair. "Why don’t you think that you are safe?"  
TA: Sollux shivered "My psiioniics are getting harder to handle, my pan feels like it’s being ripped out and I don’t know how much longer I can keep going like this...I don’t want to hurt you.... or anyone"  
CG: "And you won’t. If that was a problem, you should have told me. I know someone who can help you with that Sollux. They specialize in psiioniics and helping them to control their power." he said and continued to run his fingers through Sollux's hair gently. "We can go see him."  
TA: He fidgeted and tried to kick his way out of Gamzee's grip. "Wh-what if it doesn’t work? Karkat, I don’t trust myself anymore"  
CG: "If it doesn’t work then I will find something that will Sollux. Ok. I’m not leaving you ever again. And I shouldn’t have in the first place. Rufioh made be believe that I was doing some good by going with him and I believed it because my mind wasn’t in the right place. But I won’t let it get there again."  
TA: "No, you were right to go with Rufioh, he can keep you safe and make you happy. You don’t need me, the only trolls who do are the ones who use psiioniics to power their machinery. THATS what I'm FOR, Karkat." he snarled.  
CG: "NO!" Karkat snapped instantly at that. "Psiioniics are not FOR anything, especially something that can kill them. And as much as Rufioh makes me happy he still can’t do the same thing that you can Sollux. Not even close."  
TA: "Rufioh won’t get drunk and leave you alone at highblood parties, Rufioh won’t cause you pain by being the reason you get beaten, he won’t screw up and get hurt while you are made to watch, Rufioh won’t leave you alone and go off somewhere fancy with someone else while you get moved around like a dog, Rufioh won’t abandon you and he sure as hell isn’t going to hurt you." he growled "I'm a fucking power source. I exist for that reason only."  
CG: Karkat laughed right in Sollux's face at his words. "See Sollux that is where you are wrong here. Sure, Rufioh won’t get drunk and leave me alone but that is because he is more likely to get me drunk and then wonder off in his own drunken stupor. He did something like it before you know. And at that time, I was only 4 and we were out in the woods."  
TA: He leaned in close and spoke with gritted teeth "This is what I mean. You two are happy, take it and run with it because I'm only going to mess it up."  
CG: "Sollux I will never be fully happy unless you are with me. There is nothing that you can do being with me that will make me not happy. The only thing that would do that is for you to run away from me." He said looking right into Sollux's eyes. "Besides your psiioniics are crap anyway. They don’t actually hurt that much." he said in a slightly teasing voice.  
TA: Sollux rolled his eyes "Lucky for me they don’t need to be good, I'm sure the Empress has her own fucked up ways of getting the best out of me." he sighed and calmed down a little "You think too highly of me Karkat"  
CG: "No you think too lowly of yourself Sollux. Something that I am going to help you with even if it takes the rest of my sweeps to do it. And I will not allow you to become something for the Empress to use because that isn’t who you are. And it isn’t who you are meant to be."  
TA: He looked at the ground and huffed a little, not fully agreeing but not fully disagreeing either. "Gamzee, you can put me down now"  
CG: Gamzee looked a little unsure but a look from Karkat got him to gently put Sollux down and release him. And instantly Karkat moved forward and hugged Sollux. "I won’t let anyone use you Sollux. And I won’t let you think that kind of stuff about yourself because it isn’t true, not at all."  
TA: Sollux clung to him and hugged back tightly, he just grumbled at his words.  
CG: Karkat smiled and nuzzled Sollux a little. He raised a hand a little and started to mess with Sollux's hair.  
TA: Sollux nuzzled back and purred softly. "I'm sorry"  
CG: "You have nothing to apologize for Sollux." he said softly and purred back at him.  
TA: Sollux held him for a little while until Rufioh caught up with them, huffing a little "Karkat, my boy.... next time you run off, could you give me a little warnin'?"  
CG: Karkat pulled back a little and playfully stuck his tongue out at Rufioh. "Nope. You gotta be able to keep up. Besides my moirail needed me."  
TA: Sollux smiled warmly and Rufioh walked forward "So you finally found the lil guy then?" he chuckled and ruffled both Sollux and Karkat's hair.  
CG: Karkat laughed a bit and swatted at Rufioh's hand a little. "Come one Rufioh we are both grown trolls you know." he said but shifted and gave him a kiss on the cheek.  
TA: He sniggered "Nope, no matter what y'all say. I'm the oldest...which means I get to treat everyone like kiddies" Rufioh joked.  
CG: Karkat rolled his eyes. "Only if you want your ass kicked by two of these, /kiddies/." Karkat said "Right Sollux?" he asked smiling at him happily.  
TA: Sollux nodded and grinned "Speaking of which, you better treat Karkat right, or I'll snap your fucking horn off"  
CG: Karkat laughed a bit. "That might be a bit hard Sol they are pretty big." he said teasing Rufioh.  
TA: Rufioh smirked "Bit of an understatement there" then winked. Sollux just rolled his eyes and turned to Gamzee.  
CG: Gamzee smiled down at him wondering just how mad he was going to be at him.  
TA: Sollux got on his tip toes and linked his arms around Gamzee's neck "You’re in deep trouble y'know"  
CG: Gamzee sighed and wrapped his arms around Sollux's waist. "I figured I would be. But I guess that it’s better that you know the truth about it all."  
TA: "I suppose." he said flatly "but if you don’t want to do something, don’t do it okay?" he said quiet enough so only Gamzee could hear.  
CG: Gamzee nodded and kissed Sollux's forehead. "I want you to be happy and I will fight to give you everything that makes that happen." he said just as soft and then kissed Sollux.  
TA: He kissed back slowly before pulling away and lifting one of Gamzee's arms up, kissing over the scratches he had made "I'm sorry I hurt you..."  
CG: Gamzee smiled down at Sollux. "I don’t really feel those actually." he said and was being honest about that.  
TA: Sollux smirked "I'll have to dig deeper next time then" he teased.  
CG: "I can take you somewhere private and we can do just that." Gamzee whispered is Sollux's ear and gave it a small nip.  
TA: Sollux hummed "Something tells me that might be breaching our quadrant lines" he said, pretending like that bothered him.  
CG: Gamzee licked his ear a little. "Only if you are doing it in a violent way love."  
TA: He smiled and traced his claw down Gamzee's neck "Then I guess our little love marks are okay"  
CG: Gamzee chuckled and Karkat rolled his eyes leaning in closer to Rufioh. "How much do you want to bet Gamzee is trying to make Sollux happy with him again by wooing him with lust?" he said so only Rufioh could hear him.  
TA: Rufioh chuckled "Those two really are something, he's almost certainly doing that" he put his arm around Karkat.  
CG: Karkat smiled and leaned against Rufioh. "At least we won’t have to listen to them fighting all the time." He said and then moved to kiss him.  
TA: Rufioh kissed back slowly and then chuckled "Just please don’t tell me we'll have to listen to them pailing all the time."  
CG: "Well if we do start to hear them then we can always just go off somewhere else." He said "Besides Sollux is normally pretty good about not being overly obvious about when they do that."  
TA: "Thank goodness....at least he's sensible"  
CG: Karkat chuckled and nodded "Always has been." he said and kissed him once more. "But we are going to have to break them up."  
TA: He looked at him, a little confused "I hope you mean just for the moment....and not permanently?"  
CG: "Yes I mean just for the moment. We need to go find Staide so that we can talk to him and try to get him back to our side." he said smiling at Rufioh.  
TA: "Good, because they would probably not be too happy if we were to try break them up long term...heh...." he stood forward "Hey! You two done yet?" he yelled at Sollux and Gamzee.  
CG: Karkat nodded. "I can agree with that one," He said and Gamzee groaned a bit when he heard Rufioh "How much trouble would we get in if we just ignored them?" he whispered into Sollux's ear.  
TA: Sollux sniggered "Wanna find out?" he whispered back and kissed his neck gently.  
CG: "Definitely." Gamzee chuckled and teasingly slipped his hand up Sollux's shirt making sure that the other two would definitely see it. " Karkat rolled his eyes "They are definitely doing that on purpose." He said to Rufioh.  
TA: Sollux pressed himself against Gamzee and licked at his neck. Rufioh smirked "What should we do with them?"  
CG: "Well we can either break them up nicely or we can have fun with it." Karkat said grinning. Gamzee grinded against Sollux and pushed his pants down just a little.  
TA: Rufioh raised his eyebrows "I like your thinking" Sollux smiled and nipped at his skin, reaching up to rub a little at the base of one of Gamzee's horns.  
CG: Gamzee let out a soft moan and nipped at Sollux's neck making sure to leave a mark where Karkat and Rufioh would be able to see it. "Still have any of those old tricks that you used to use when you were younger?" Karkat asked Rufioh.  
TA: Rufioh looked to him, a little confused "I don’t remember doin' anything too bad" Sollux moved back so that he was between a tree and Gamzee, moving his hips towards him.  
CG: "They never were but they were fun." Karkat said and shrugged before moving forward. "You grab Gamzee and I will grab Sollux. If Gamzee does try to bite you just fly up and I will deal with him." Karkat said moving so they could get the two of them apart. Gamzee lifted Sollux up a bit so that he would be able to wrap his legs around him if he wanted.  
TA: Rufioh sneaked around the back of Gamzee and nodded at Karkat, part of him hoping the highblood would be too occupied to notice. Sollux hooked his legs over Gamzee's hips and started kissing along his jawline.  
CG: Karkat moved so that he would be closer to Sollux and nodded back to signal that he was ready when Rufioh was. Gamzee didn’t notice the movement at all too into what they were doing and Karkat made sure that he would be blocked from Sollux's eye sight by Gamzee.  
TA: Rufioh lunged at Gamzee and dragged him back forcefully by his shoulders. Sollux gasped a little and clung to him a bit.  
CG: Karkat lunged forward and grabbed Sollux instantly pulling him off Gamzee and away so that he couldn’t just easily start everything back up. Gamzee let out a startled sound as he was grabbed and then growled and tried to twist around so that he could grab Rufioh.  
TA: Rufioh fixed his arms around Gamzee's torso so that he can't claw at him. Sollux hissed and tried to kick at Karkat.  
CG: Karkat moved quickly and pinned Sollux to the ground. "Now Sollux. You may be able to claw up your matesprit from time to time but that is far outside of moirail zone in any form." he said teasingly. Gamzee continued to growl and try to break free for a minute or two before he finally gave up.  
TA: Sollux stopped and rolled his eyes "We were only messing around, KK" Rufioh chuckled and spun Gamzee around.  
CG: Karkat laughed. "I know but now isn’t the time for that." He said and moved and then helped Sollux up. "So, help me Rufioh I am going to murder you if you all up and do that again." Gamzee growled though it was more of him being a sore loser than an actual threat.  
TA: Sollux got up and brushed himself down. Rufioh giggled "Do what, dog? This?" he grinned and hovered above the ground a bit, spinning Gamzee around again.  
CG: Gamzee growled and Karkat shook his head. "Come one Rufioh we need to get going, Like now." He said also to make sure that Gamzee didn’t try to kill him.  
TA: Rufioh nodded and put Gamzee down and let him go. "Sorry" he grinned at Gamzee, not looking sorry at all.  
CG: Gamzee flipped him off before going over to Sollux.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Gonna dump a bunch of chapters up tonight because this thing needs shifting


	10. Spies in Camp

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings for - violence and descriptions of pretty horrible shit

CG: "So Rufioh where is the troll that we are looking for's tent?"  
TA: "Staide right?" he thought about it "His tent is super isolated from the rest.... if I’m thinking of the right troll.... but he's barely there"  
CG: "Where would he be if not at his tent? Any idea at all?" he asked so that he would know if they needed to go on some kind of troll hunt for him.  
TA: "He's one of our hunters, so probably in these woods somewhere...."  
CG: Karkat sighed knowing that this wasn’t going to be easy. "How often do the hunters go out to hunt?"  
TA: "They hunt at night.... they know exactly where the beasts sleep, and it stops them from being seen when they do"  
CG: Karkat nodded. "Alright well then we can either send someone out looking for them right now or we can wait for him to return at his tent."  
TA: "Well....It's getting dark now, we can look ourselves, right?" Rufioh looked at the others.  
CG: Karkat nodded. "Yeah we should be able to do that."  
TA: Rufioh and Sollux nodded "Okay so.... they usually start off to the west....so we should head there first"  
CG: Karkat nodded at his words "Alright let’s get going now then."  
TA: Rufioh reached for Karkat's hand as they began to walk.  
CG: Karkat held Rufioh's hand and leaned against him a little as they walked. Gamzee sighed and then turned to Sollux. "Guess we are going with them."  
TA: He shrugged "Guess so" then took his hand as well  
CG: Gamzee smiled and walked beside him. Karkat sighed. "I wonder what I am even going to say to him when we find him. " Karkat said looking up at Rufioh as he spoke.  
TA: Rufioh looked down at him "Just reason with him, reassure him that there is a way out of the Highblood’s control"  
CG: Karkat gave a small laugh. "You make it sound so easy when you say it like that Rufioh." he said and kept walking.  
TA: "Well, just don’t think of it as too hard.... take it easy" he said slowly.  
CG: Karkat nodded "Alright." He said and started to look around hoping that they would find the troll that they were looking for.  
TA: Rufioh kept walking with Karkat, keeping an eye out for anything suspicious. As it got progressively darker Sollux walked closer to Gamzee, his grip tightening.  
CG: Gamzee looked down at Sollux when he felt the grip on his hand tightening. "You ok Solbro?" He asked looking a bit worried about him.  
TA: "I don’t like the dark, I really don’t like the dark" he looked up at him.  
CG: Gamzee frowned a bit and then picked Sollux up and shifted him so he would be on his back. "You just hold on there and I will let those two know that I am taking you somewhere that there will be some more light."  
TA: Sollux nuzzled into Gamzee’s back and held on to his shoulders "Okay, if you’re sure"  
CG: "I will take care of you Solbro." he said and then jogged up to Karkat and Rufioh. "I am going to take Solbro back towards the camp where there will be more light." Karkat stopped and turned and then nodded. "Yeah that’s probably a good idea."  
TA: Sollux snuggled into him and gave Karkat and Rufioh a small wave.  
CG: Karkat waved back and then Gamzee turned and started back towards the camp. "Poor Sollux. I almost forgot about that."  
TA: "I wonder why he doesn’t like it?" Rufioh hummed and looked around.  
CG: "I don’t know the exact reasons, but I know that he can’t see as well in the dark as you or I can." He said as he started walking once again.  
TA: "Because of his glasses? That really sucks" He kicked a stone.  
CG: "I don’t know if his glasses are the reason but who knows." he said and kept moving and looking around.  
TA: In the distance there was a loud noise of something falling through the leaves of a tree. Rufioh instantly pulled Karkat close to him.  
CG: Karkat let out a startled sound when he was pulled close and then turned his head to look around to see what was going on. "What was that?"  
TA: Rufioh made a small noise "Wing-beast nest. They uh...they’re all dead" Rufioh said, trying his best to sense the animals around.  
CG: Karkat frowned. "What do you mean?" He asked since he had no idea what was going on at all at that moment.  
TA: Rufioh looked down to Karkat "I think the hunters are close.... they must have shot the nest out of the tree...." he bit his lip "which means they'll be coming over here to collect it."  
CG: Karkat nodded. "Alright that means that we will be able to find the troll we are looking for right now." Karkat said and started to pull away a little.  
TA: Rufioh placed a hand on his shoulder and started to walk right behind him "Careful..."  
CG: Karkat nodded and slowly went forward to so he could look around to see where the hunters were going to come from.  
TA: There was more rustling and movement from the trees and bushes that were around them.  
CG: Karkat looked around and frowned. "Rufioh what is going on?" he asked softly.  
TA: "Trolls from the camp..." Rufioh tightened his grip on Karkat "They sometimes hunt in packs"  
CG: "How big?" Karkat asked and looked around trying to focus his eyes so that he could see the number of trolls there.  
TA: The trolls hid in the bushes for the moment "Six...maybe ten"  
CG: Karkat took a breath and then raised his voice. "Come on out. We are not an enemy."  
TA: A troll then suddenly sprung on Karkat, ripping him away from Rufioh and tossing him to the floor "No, but you could be food." the troll smirked.  
CG: Karkat barred his fangs as he was pinned. "Only if you want to be cut open from the inside." Karkat snarled and twisted his body to kick the troll from him.  
TA: The troll staggered back, only to be held in a tight grip by Rufioh. Someone else yanked at Karkat's hair and hissed in his ear.  
CG: Karkat growled and swung his arm to hit the troll who was holding him in the face as hard as he could from his current position.  
TA: The troll growled back when they were hit but it only resulted in more hunter trolls tugging and clawing at Karkat. Rufioh snarled and started shoving trolls out the way and hitting them as hard as he could.  
CG: Karkat fought against the trolls that came up to him and for the most part was able to get them from him but of course he only had so much energy and could only handle so many trolls at one time.  
TA: The pack continued to mess around with Karkat, shoving him between the group and growling at him in the darkness. Rufioh huffed "Come on, you've had your fun, let him go." he said sternly and loudly in a demanding tone.  
CG: Karkat growled and clawed at as many of the trolls as he could when he would be forced to run into one of them. It was hard to keep his balance at all with all the pushing, so he couldn’t stop himself.  
TA: The pack stopped when they heard Rufioh and Karkat would soon feel the warm touch of his matesprit's hands on his shoulders.  
CG: Karkat started to growl at first before realizing it was Rufioh and then he leaned back against him a bit grateful that he was there.  
TA: "I'd recognize that voice anywhere..." the troll chuckled "Rufioh Nitram" another sang. Rufioh just rolled his eyes and hugged Karkat from behind, placing a kiss on his cheek.  
CG: Karkat turned his head and nuzzled into Rufioh a little before he glared at the trolls around them and held back a bit of a growl.  
TA: "You okay?" Rufioh asked softly as the trolls came a little closer to the pair.  
CG: Karkat nodded. "I’m fine. But I might just take a few chunks out of these assholes though." he said grumbling.  
TA: "Good luck with that" said a troll, leaning in close to Karkat's face.  
CG: Karkat growled and snapped at him a bit before quickly bringing his knee up and planting it hard into the troll’s groin.  
TA: He yelped and then snarled at Karkat, he raised a hand up to swipe at him before Rufioh caught it and forced his arm back down. "We are looking for someone" Rufioh said flatly "Isn’t everyone?" the troll chuckled.  
CG: Karkat chuckled at being able to land the blow against the other troll and then rolled his eyes when the other was talking. "We are looking for Staide."  
TA: "Hmm? Staide...." he tapped his own chin with his finger, pretending to think "Never heard of him" He said with a lying grin.  
CG: Karkat moved out of Rufioh's arms and grabbed the troll and quickly slammed him against the tree. "Unless you all want to become useless pets for Highbloods I suggest that you start fucking telling me what I want to know." he growled at the troll pinned against the tree.  
TA: The troll just laughed, "You are one hell of a feisty little troll, aren’t cha?" He smiled wide "Staide insisted he brings up the rear in tonight’s hunt, he'll be somewhere back there if you are looking for him."  
CG: Karkat looked back just a little and nodded. "Hurry Rufioh we need to find him now." he said and quickly moved away in the direction that the troll had said avoiding the temptation to hit the troll one last time as he did.  
TA: The pack just giggled and smirked as they left, Rufioh began to run with Karkat in tow.  
CG: Karkat looked around. "Let me know if you see anything." Karkat said to Rufioh almost worried that Staide would be meeting with some highbloods."  
TA: "Okay... You too" Rufioh looked around frantically. "He's a really odd soundin' troll.... a lotta shifty business"  
CG: "Of course if he was found out there would be most of the camp after him." He said and then stopped not long after. "Wait! There." he said pointing to a darker area. Of the woods.  
TA: "What is it?" Rufioh asked as he walked over slowly.  
CG: "He is in there." he said and moved. "I don’t think he has noticed us yet so let’s move quietly."  
TA: He nodded and started to walk in a quiet crouch.  
CG: Karkat followed him just as quiet looking around constantly to make sure that there weren’t any highbloods around at that moment.  
TA: Rufioh panted slightly in anticipation and his head snapped around to a quiet noise in the distance.  
CG: Karkat hadn’t heard the noise so he kept slowly moving forward making sure to stick to the darker areas.  
TA: Rufioh creeped closer to the noise, being careful to be as silent as possible.  
CG: Karkat stopped moving once he was close enough to the troll who he assumed was Staide.  
TA: Rufioh looked up and was met with two beady highblood eyes. "K-Karkat..." he whispered before a firm hand was clamped over his mouth.  
CG: Karkat turned his head when he heard the sound not knowing what was going on since Rufioh was now a little away from him and just far enough that he couldn’t quite tell what was going on. "What is it?" he asked softly.  
TA: The only noise that came from Rufioh was small muffled calls, he thrashed around and was dragged out from the bushes. "Staide." the highblood said loudly.  
CG: Karkat heard the sounds and the voice and instantly started to move so he could help his matesprit which probably was the worst thing he could do in this situation but his emotions and sense to protect the one he loves was a bit too controlling at times.  
TA: Rufioh was pushed to the ground, he immediately jumped to the highblood and punched them solidly. The highblood just shoved him down again and addressed Staide. "Do you know this sneaking piece of shit?" he hadn’t noticed Karkat yet.  
CG: Karkat realized that he hadn’t been spotted and hesitated before he changed course a bit to hide himself something he hated to do but it was for the best.  
TA: "N-no..." Staide shifted nervously. The highblood sighed and backhanded Staide. "Don't lie to me." the smaller troll then yelped "He's Rufioh Nitram, I see him around the camp sometimes." he whimpered.  
CG: Karkat watched what was happening close and winced when he heard the sound of the slap and then bit his lip trying to figure out what he needed to do.... What he could do.  
TA: Rufioh tried to rush away but the highblood grabbed him and held onto him by his horns "Listen up mutant. Staide here is doing me a little favour, you keep quiet and wait until I'm done, then I'll come to you." Rufioh flapped his wings and struggled but the highblood was stronger.  
CG: Karkat took a breath and shifted a bit and quickly fixed his hair so it looked a bit more like Kankri's He then quickly came out of the brush. "What is going on here?" He said doing his best to mimic the way that Kankri sounded.  
TA: Rufioh was confused at first until he figured out what was Karkat was doing, he had to hide a smile when he did. Staide looked to him and squinted but didn’t say anything through fear of the Highblood. "Well then, Vantas" the highblood tilted his head up.  
CG: Karkat looked between the two as if he had no idea what was going on. He knew that because of the darkness that the other wouldn’t be able to tell him and Kankri apart and that was what he was counting on. "You really shouldn’t be holding anyone by the horns you know. So, I will have to ask that you release him instantly."  
TA: The highblood let go of Rufioh's horns but threw him to the floor again, and kept him down by keeping their heavy boot on his back. "It’s almost an honour to meet you." the highblood said stoically.  
CG: Karkat kept his head up high and then looked over at Staide. "Karkat said that there was someone who was giving away information on us. Is it safe to assume that you, as are well shown in this situation, are in fact the one doing such?  
TA: Staide looked to him and nodded slowly "They made me, th-they said my moirail and I would be culled if I didn’t do what they said" he said quickly. "Karkat..." the highblood said "He's the Grand Highblood's troll, right?" Rufioh was pressed into the ground more "Two little redbloods."  
CG: "You won’t find him. He left with his moirail hours ago and by the sounds of it they have no intention of coming back." Karkat said and looked over at Staide. "I do wish that you had come to talk to me. I would have been able to help both you and your moirail. " He said and then looked at the highblood once again.  
TA: "I'm sorry" Staide said to who he thought was Kankri. "You know what I'm going to ask you, Vantas" Rufioh scrambled out, only to be stopped by a swift hit by Staide, who automatically got one back, from Rufioh.  
CG: "That’s enough Rufioh. Violence won’t get you anywhere." he said inwardly wincing at the punch. "Staide I know what you are going to ask but it is always best to ask it anyway."  
TA: Rufioh nodded and stood still, not used to getting told off by Karkat. Staide opened his mouth to say something when the Highblood interrupted him "You're coming with us."  
CG: Karkat looked at the highblood. "Only one condition will I come with you without any struggle." He said just as calm. "Leave those who have joined me alone. Without me there none of them will cause any more trouble nor will anyone who has heard me speak."  
TA: Rufioh shook his head "Kar-Kankri! No, it’s not worth it!" he tried to convince him but just earned being grabbed sharply by the highblood. "Alright, but mutants like this one can be rather useful" The highblood ran a finger down Rufioh's back in the gap between his wings.  
CG: "No!" Karkat snapped faster than he had meant to. "No, the deal is no one from the camp and he is from the camp. You take or harm him and I will make sure that you never find me or are able to stop me." he said and looked at Rufioh hoping that he would trust him to know what he was doing.  
TA: The highblood groaned and let go of Rufioh who was giving Karkat pleading looks. "Come this way then." the highblood said calmly with a gesture.  
CG: Karkat nodded and then went to Rufioh. "Always have faith Rufioh everything will work out." He said softly and then mouthed. "Find Gamzee and Sollux." silently making it seem just like a normal farewell between good friends. He then turned to Staide "I do forgive you Staide." He said simply before turning and walking towards the highblood as calmly as he could, trusting Rufioh to be able to save him and get the camp to move so that no one gets hurt.  
TA: Rufioh gave a stiff nod and resisted the urge to comfort him. The highblood gently placed a hand on Karkat's back to guide him and slowly started to walk. "There’s a lot of people after you"  
CG: Karkat fought to not move away from the hand at all. "I know that. And I knew that there would be as soon as I started down this hard path. But I do not regret anything that I have done."  
TA: Rufioh growled as soon as the two were away and shoved Staide against a tree, pinning him to it and towering over him "It’s a good thing I’ve not got a lotta time kid.... or you'd be dead where you stand." He growled close to him "Don't come back to camp." He finished and pushed away from him. Staide just nodded and whimpered, then scampered off when Rufioh left him. The highblood nodded and walked Karkat through the dark woods.  
CG: Karkat stayed beside the highblood as calmly as he could. "Do you have more with you up a head or did you travel alone?" Karkat asked since it wasn’t necessarily an unreasonable question for someone in his position.  
TA: "Tonight I am accompanied by a highblood guard, she is further up." the highblood said and then moved Karkat around a beast's burrow hole "Careful" he said gently. Rufioh flew up straight away and started to look for signs of Gamzee and Sollux.  
CG: Gamzee and Sollux were right outside the camp fire sitting with Gamzee wrapping his arms lovingly around Sollux. Karkat nodded actually glad to hear that there was only one more with the highblood. He let out a startled sound when he was moved and only as the corner of his foot felt the burrow hole did he realize that he had almost fallen in. "Thank you. I didn’t even see the burrow there."  
TA: Sollux nuzzled into Gamzee and hummed, glad to have him as comfort. Rufioh saw the pair by the fire after a few minutes and swooped down, skidding to a stop a few metres away from them. The highblood hummed "I could tell. Thankfully I can see rather clearly in the dark. Just know that the only reason I am taking any care with you is that I'll be culled if you are damaged." He said bluntly.  
CG: Gamzee's head snapped up as soon as he saw Rufioh he then frowned and looked around a bit. "Where is Karbro?" he asked since he knew how dangerous things could be. Karkat nodded. "Of course, it is." Karkat said calmly. "I would never dare to assume that there was another reason behind it.”  
TA: "Rufioh, where is he?" Sollux demanded, crawling from Gamzee's arms and standing up to look at Rufioh. "Highbloods." he said breathlessly "We have to go...." Rufioh said, more to Gamzee than Sollux. The highblood nodded "Redbloods like you don’t deserve the respect we give you. But I have my orders" he sounded slightly annoyed.  
CG: Gamzee was up in a flash. "Lead the way." He said then turned to Sollux. "You should get everyone in the camp to go. If the highbloods are here, then they need to leave." he said before starting off in the direction that Rufioh had come from and that they needed to go. "And why is it that I do not deserve the same treatment that you do? Is there really that much of a difference between us? We are both grey, we both have horns, and sharp teeth and claws. So, what is so different?"  
TA: Sollux nodded and was running into the camp and to the nearest tents. Rufioh flew up again, high enough to see but low enough that Gamzee would be able to follow him. "Your veins carry a dirty colour of blood." the highblood began. " Trolls like you are mistakes, mutants, you should be thankful that we are sparing you for now."  
CG: Gamzee followed easily going from watching where he was stepping to looking up to make sure that he was still following Rufioh. Karkat shook his head a bit. "So, I am below you simply because I have a different shade of blood running through my veins. That is like saying that you are beneath your brethren simply because your horns are shaped differently. The hemospectrum isn’t something that should determine someone's worth. Because in truth you are no different than I am."  
TA: Rufioh flew quicker, almost at the place where he thought Karkat and the highblood had been. Sollux ran into the tents waking everyone up, he scampered around and found eventually found Kankri. The highblood rolled his eyes "Don' t preach to me, Vantas. Trolls like you don’t seem to understand that ya' won’t be able to change things"  
CG: Gamzee had a little trouble keeping up with Rufioh but he never fell to far behind that he couldn’t see him. The trolls weren’t happy to be woken up and of course they all went to see what was going on. Karkat looked up at the highblood for a moment and then back to where he was walking. "And why do you think that? Look back to what Signless was able to do in such a small time. How much change that he was able to bring."  
TA: Sollux looked up at Kankri and cleared his throat "You all need to move camp now, it’s in your best interest considering there are Highbloods fairly close. Get your followers somewhere safe, and stay down." Sollux said as calmly as he could. Kankri wrinkled his nose at him and folded his arms, but nodded "It is impeccable timing that we were going to be relocating fairly soon anyway, as is normal for our lifestyle here." The highblood sighed quietly "Why do you think I have been instructed to keep you alive?"  
CG: Karkat gave a small shrug of his shoulders. "The exact reason I do not know. But I would assume that it would be so that the empress can make an example out of me for what I have done and maybe even to be sold off as some slave." he said since that was what he was sure would happen to Kankri if he had really been caught.  
TA: The highblood kept a stern and straight expression. "Not only will we make an example of you, we will drain every drop of that disgusting red from you and use it to drown you in if you last that long, but not before beating you senseless first and using your body to breed and force out as many highblood grubs as possible until you are even more useless than you are now." Meanwhile, Sollux rolled his eyes at Kankri's words and started to help pack everything away as quick as possible. Rufioh came lower as they came closer to where he last saw Karkat. "They went this way" he pointed.  
CG: Karkat actually winced a little hearing what they were going to do to Kankri if they caught him. "It will be harder to break me than you think. For I know that the change will come when it is supposed to, and nothing will change that." he said trying to keep his voice sounding strong. "And what if the grubs that I bear all turn out to be nothing but redbloods like myself? Or all have off spectrum blood colours?" Gamzee nodded at Rufioh's words. "Alright let’s hurry and catch up before something happens.  
TA: "If they are not what we need then we will cull them in front of you and make you listen to their pained little noises as they take their last insignificant breaths. There has even been talk on force-feeding their freshly culled bodies to you depending on how disobedient you've been." The highblood smiled a little at the thought. Rufioh ran as fast as he could in the direction Karkat took "the troll who has Karkat won’t listen to me.... You’re a highblood, he might pay attention to you more" Rufioh called back.  
CG: Karkat stopped walking at those words without thinking about it. He remembered threats about a lot of that, but the being force fed the grubs was definitely something new to him and he almost gave away that he wasn’t the mutant that they were after. Gamzee kept up easily and nodded. "I will try but there is no guarantee that they will listen to me either. As it is there is a chance that word of what I have done has already spread."  
TA: The highblood noticed him stopping and put his hands on Karkat's shoulders "Come on now, I'm sure chewing through the soft skulls of your own little grubs won’t be too bad" he whispered tauntingly into his ear. Rufioh nodded "Just try anything"  
CG: Karkat clenched a fist and started to walk again. "I will not eat any that I birth." he said his mouth dry as he continued walking. Hoping that Rufioh was close to getting him away from this highblood and back to where he knew that he was safe.  
TA: "You will when we hold your mouth open and force you to swallow, hell, we might even feed them to you when they are still alive. That way you’ve got the guilt to carry around of culling and eating your own new-borns" The highblood grinned, knowing he was upsetting him. Rufioh caught sight of Karkat and grabbed at Gamzee.  
CG: Karkat felt a few tears streaming down his cheeks at his words as he was able to see it all happening to him, he could see them doing just that and it was more than he could handle. Gamzee saw them and moved forward. "If things start to go bad then I want you to grab Karkat and get him out of there while I deal with the highblood."  
TA: The highblood continued, being able to see Karkat's tears "And the grubs that are of a sufficient blood colour? We'll raise them to hate your kind, we'll teach them to beat you and use you from an early age so that they can go on to do the same things we are doing now to other trolls. You will change nothing." He hissed. Rufioh nodded and prepared himself, getting as close as possible without being seen.  
CG: Karkat put his hands over his ears. "STOP! JUST FUCKING STOP!" He shouted not able to take it anymore. He knew that it wasn’t what he should have done but he couldn’t take the words anymore. Gamzee took a breath and moved forward. "Who's there?" he asked hoping to play off that he might own the land there.  
TA: "Don’t lose your temper now, Kankri." the highblood growled and pulled his hands from his ears. The highblood heard Gamzee's voice and turned around, keeping a grip on Karkat. "I'm here on official business, just passing through"  
CG: Karkat stood there trembling in the Highblood’s grasp and Gamzee moved closer. "I don’t care what you are doin here. I don’t want anyone on my land that I don’t give permission." He growled and stepped forward. "And as it is only that one there has the permission to be on these lands."  
TA: Rufioh creeped closer. "This one is with me." The highblood sneered.  
CG: "I don’t believe it. He was alone when he showed up." he said and then tried to push into the other's mind carefully.  
TA: Rufioh moved so that he has behind the highblood and out of his view but so that Karkat could see him. He held a finger to his lips. "We met, and now I'm taking him somewhere. It’s really none of your business." the highblood continued.  
CG: Karkat's saw Rufioh and his eyes plead for him to hurry and get him away from the highblood. Gamzee growled. "He doesn’t all up and look like he wants to go with you motherfucker."  
TA: "It’s not your concern" The highblood said and started to stroke Karkat's hair without turning around. Rufioh scowled, not liking anyone else touching his mate like that, especially a troll who he knew would do him harm. He got closer and got ready to move.  
CG: Karkat let out a small, pathetic, sound at the stroking of his hair and Gamzee stepped forward. "I suggest that you all up and let him go motherfucker before I start all up and getting real angry."  
TA: Rufioh lunged forward and grabbed Karkat by the waist, yanking him out of the Highblood’s grasp and turning away. The highblood hissed and moved round to attack them. "GAMZEE!" Rufioh yelled.  
CG: Gamzee instantly lunged at the highblood and tackled him down. Karkat clung to Rufioh tightly and buried his face into his shoulder his body still shaking.  
TA: The highblood growled, he tried to get free from Gamzee and attack and struggled on the ground. Rufioh held onto Karkat and kissed his cheek softly, "I'm here now, it' s alright...." he flew up a little to make sure the highblood wouldn’t be able to get to them.  
CG: Karkat wrapped himself fully around Rufioh and nuzzled into him taking comfort in him being there. Gamzee growled at the highblood and hit him several times trying to make him to stop fighting and maybe if he was lucky just cull him for what he had done.  
TA: Rufioh patted and rubbed Karkat's back, wanting to stay close to keep an eye on Gamzee. The highblood scratched him and then with a quick sharp movement he struck Gamzee's neck.  
CG: Gamzee jerked back with pain when his neck was cut. He then growled and used his voodoos full out to keep the highblood from doing anything other than seeing his worst nightmare. Karkat slowly started to calm down a little as he held onto Rufioh.  
TA: Rufioh shoosh-papped him gently and kept holding him tightly, glad to have him back safe in his arms. The highblood made a small noise and lay still.  
CG: Karkat kissed the other's neck where he was able to and continued to nuzzle into him. Gamzee growled and then looked up at Rufioh to see what he thought he should do.  
TA: Rufioh looked down to him and then to Karkat who seemed so little and vulnerable right now. He turned back to Gamzee "Cull him"  
CG: Gamzee nodded and forced himself deeper into the highbloods mind so that he could simply kill him in an easy and clean way. Karkat made no protest to this at the moment still too upset to do so.  
TA: Rufioh watched as the Highblood’s eyes lost life, holding onto Karkat protectively.  
CG: Karkat nuzzled into him again wishing that he could completely hide himself in Rufioh at the moment and once the highblood was dead Gamzee motioned for Rufioh to come down.  
TA: Rufioh kisses Karkat's cheek and hums to him a little as he comes down to stand on the other side of the dead body from Gamzee.  
CG: Karkat didn’t let go of Rufioh at all. Gamzee sighed. "Are there any more of them around here?" he asked looking mainly at Rufioh sure that Karkat wasn’t likely to answer him or hear him at all.  
TA: "I saw another while I was up searching for you.... but she's quite faraway"  
CG: Gamzee thought for a moment. "Part of me thinks that we should go after her as well but at the same time we should just head back to the camp to Sollux and help get them out."  
TA: Rufioh thought about it "I want to keep Karkat safe.... can we head back to the camp?"  
CG: Gamzee nodded. "Yeah. You can fly on a head. I know the way back and will be there soon." he said since it would be best for Karkat to get out of there quickly.  
TA: He nodded and flew up and in the direction of the camp.  
CG: Karkat held onto him and purred softly as he felt the cool wind on him. Gamzee ran back as fast as he could.  
TA: Rufioh tried to make the journey as smooth as possible for Karkat and got to the camp before Gamzee. Sollux had just finished packing up the last cart when he saw them, he ran over straight away to see if Karkat was okay.  
CG: Karkat didn’t move at all as they landed and barely even registered anyone coming up to him. By the time that the two of them arrived at the camp Gamzee was a little over half way back.  
TA: "Karkat?" Sollux asked softly.  
CG: Karkat turned his head and looked back at him tears still in his eyes. He shifted a little and reached for Sollux much like a wriggler would reach for a lusus after climbing a tree.  
TA: Rufioh let Karkat down, gently passing him over to Sollux who quickly held him in his arms. He rocked him slowly and nuzzled into him "Shh..."  
CG: Karkat clung onto Sollux tightly and started to cry tears streaming down his face and he started to babble on about what had happened.  
TA: Sollux brought him over to a nearby log and sat with him on his lap. He listened to Karkat carefully and rubbed circles into his back. "It's okay, you’re safe now"  
CG: Karkat nuzzled into him after he finished telling him all that had happened. It took several minutes to calm down and by the time that his breathing evened out a bit Gamzee entered the camp and jogged up to where they were.  
TA: Rufioh watched them silently, taking a moment to breathe. Sollux looked up to Gamzee and gave a small nod as he continued to hold Karkat, trying to comfort him the best he could. "We won't let them touch the grub, I promise"  
CG: Karkat nodded at Sollux's words still worried about it all. Gamzee walked over and stood next to Rufioh. "Where is the troll that you two were looking for?"  
TA: "I dealt with him" Rufioh said sternly.  
CG: Gamzee raised an eyebrow. "Culled him?" he asked  
TA: "No....Kankri wouldn't like that.... I made sure he wouldn't come back"  
CG: Gamzee nodded and Karkat made a small sound with his face buried into Sollux's shoulder.  
TA: "Hm?" Sollux tucked a lock of hair behind Karkat's ear.  
CG: "We shouldn’t turn him away." He said softly and only really loud enough that Sollux would be able to understand it.  
TA: "Do you mean Staide?" Sollux asked softly.  
CG: Karkat nodded and Gamzee looked over at them curiously.  
TA: "He could've had the whole camp culled." Sollux said quietly and nuzzled him.  
CG: "He was defending his moirail Sollux. He was only doing what I would have done for you." he said softly. "He just chose the wrong option."  
TA: Sollux sighed and cuddled him "I know, but he was foolish to trust a highblood like that. He's gone now anyway so there’s not much we can do"  
CG: "He will come back for his moirail. I know it. We just need to find him when he does." he said softly.  
TA: "And then what? The camp will have left by then" Sollux said in a hushed tone, wary of the others hearing.  
CG: "We keep him with the camp and show him what he needs to believe. And that is that he won’t be turned away for this." he said calmly.  
TA: He hummed "I guess it could work, most of the camp don’t know of his deceit anyway." He looked to Rufioh "But will those two play nice?"  
CG: "We can make them." he said softly and nuzzled him again. "But in all we need to do this."  
TA: "Why? Staide might be hunted by the Highbloods once they realise that the one who took you hasn’t returned."  
CG: "Maybe but most of us are already being hunted anyway." he said. "It will be a lot better this way."  
TA: He sighed "Fine, we'll wait here for him"  
CG: Karkat nodded and smiled. "Thank you Sollux." He said and lifted his hand up putting out two fingers to form one half of a diamond.  
TA: Sollux gave a small smile and brought his hand up, parting his fingers and gently placing them tip to tip with Karkat's to make the full diamond.  
CG: Karkat smiled and then hugged him, glad to have Sollux with him since it would have been hard to get through with just about anyone else.  
TA: Sollux hugged back, happy to finally have him in his arms again. "I never got to congratulate you on your matespritship with Rufioh" he said to him.  
CG: Karkat smiled a bit. "Perhaps we should celebrate it later." he said. "Just you and me and then those two can do whatever they want for a couple hours."  
TA: He nodded "I'd like that, it’s been a while since it’s just been the two of us"  
CG: He nodded. "Well then its settled once all of this is over and we are in a safe place we will do it."  
TA: Sollux smiled and then turned to Gamzee and Rufioh "Guys, stop standing over there pretending not to lug in. Just come over"  
CG: Gamzee smiled and went over sitting so that he would be closer to Sollux and Rufioh would be more at Karkat's back when he sat down.  
TA: Rufioh leaned his head on Karkat's shoulder and Sollux rested his free hand on Gamzee's thigh "KK, you tell them about Staide"  
CG: "We are getting him back with the rest of the camp." he said loud enough for both to hear.  
TA: Rufioh looked to him "Why? He's not exactly trustworthy"  
CG: "He was protecting his moirail Rufioh. Remember that they would hurt him and his moirail and I know exactly how bad they can be when they are doing something like that. And I won’t let him feel bad because of that."  
TA: He sighed and nodded "Okay, if you think it’s for the best.... then I guess we'll have to help, right Gam?"  
CG: Gamzee chuckled. "Well I doubt that either of us will have happy matesprit’s if we don’t help at all."  
TA: "True" Rufioh chuckled and Sollux just rolled his eyes.  
CG: "Gamzee is just saying that so he can stay in your pants at night." Karkat whispered into Sollux's ear.  
TA: Sollux gave a small shrug "Well then it must be working" he whispered back.  
CG: Karkat laughed. "Just try to keep it down so I can have some peaceful nights with Rufioh as well." he said teasingly.  
TA: Sollux raised an eyebrow at that "Just as long as you two keep it down" he teased.  
CG: Karkat stuck his tongue out at him before laughing which of course made Gamzee look confused.  
TA: Sollux giggled and Rufioh just pulled a face "What on Beforus are you two whispering about?"  
CG: "Nothing you two need to know about." Karkat said and turned a little so he could kiss him. "But you might figure it out eventually."  
TA: Rufioh kissed back then pulled away but stayed close "Hopefully nothing too bad.... I know what you're like Karkat" He said which only made Sollux laugh more.  
CG: "Come on I have never been THAT bad. If anything, you are always ten times worse than I am." he said happily and glad that he had both of them so that Sollux could make him feel better and he could tease Rufioh.  
TA: Rufioh grinned and shook his head "I'll have you know.... I’m a respectable troll"  
CG: "Only when you are around some people. But alone you are terrible, and you know it." he said teasingly.  
TA: "Just wait until we are really alone" he whispered teasingly in Karkat's ear.  
CG: Karkat smiled and kissed him before whispering back. "I can’t wait." before moving back towards Sollux more.  
TA: Rufioh smiled and still leaned on him. Sollux nuzzled into Karkat and gently stroked Gamzee's thigh.  
CG: Gamzee smiled and kissed Sollux's cheek happily. "How long do you think we will have to wait to find Staide?" he asked.  
TA: "I'm not sure.... I told him to leave about 30 minutes ago..." Rufioh admitted.  
CG: Gamzee nodded before there was a sound of rustling leaves not all that far away.  
TA: Staide looked out for a moment before sitting back in the bush once he was sure it was Rufioh and Karkat he had heard.  
CG: Karkat stood up and carefully walked over to where he saw the movement. "Staide? You can come out."  
TA: He scurried further in "N-no, your matesprit will cull me..."  
CG: "No he won’t. I promise that he won’t touch you." He said calmly. "He was just mad because I was going with the highblood at that time and that worried him."  
TA: Staide crept out slowly "I just need to find my moirail before the camp leaves for good, I can’t live without her" His voice was shaky.  
CG: "I know, and you are going to stay with her....and with the camp as well." he said as he stood up and moved back a little so that the other had a bit more space.  
TA: Staide walked forward, sticking close to Karkat "Th-the camp won’t have me back...."  
CG: "The camp doesn’t know what you did." He said softly. "And so long as you don’t do it again they never will, and I will make sure that both you and your moirail are safe."  
TA: He nodded quickly "I'll never do it again, I promise...I was just scared they were going to hurt her"  
CG: "I know, and I can understand that. I would do the same thing for my moirail." he said and gestured to Sollux. "I already told you that I forgive you for what happened and that I don’t blame you and that is the truth."  
TA: Staide looked to Sollux and then back at Karkat, he nodded and walked a little further out, looking for his moirail in the crowd that were getting ready to leave.  
CG: Karkat watched him go for a moment and then headed back to Sollux and looked at him and Rufioh before looking over to Gamzee. "We need to work on finding a safe place that we can blend in easily."  
TA: Staide found his moirail and scampered off with her. Rufioh nodded "And somewhere safe and clean enough for the grub"  
CG: Karkat nodded. "And if possible a place near someone who would be able, and willing to help with the birth and everything that won’t turn on us."  
TA: Sollux huffed "You realise we are wanted by highbloods right? Who's going to help us?"  
CG: Karkat shrugged. "I don’t know. But if we are lucky we will be able to find someone." he said and sat down in the grass. "But first we just need to find a safe place. So, if anyone has any suggestions I am listening."  
TA: "There’s another lowblood settlement a few miles from here.... its tiny but Kankri used to preach there all the time.... not much trouble there." Rufioh said.  
CG: Karkat thought about it then shook his head. "No there may not be much trouble there but if Kankri has preached there then it is most likely being watched to make sure that there is no sign of rebellion starting."  
TA: Rufioh nodded "Do we just have to search for a place them?" Sollux asked.  
CG: "I feel like we might have to." He said before Gamzee chimed in. "I might know a place. Its far away and won’t be the easiest to get to but there shouldn’t be much trouble there."  
TA: "I guess it’s our only choice" Sollux leaned on him.  
CG: Gamzee nodded a bit. "Alright. Well then there should be a small village to the west of here. We can reach it in about half an hour is we get moving and we should be able to get somewhere to sleep. Or I can get the hoofbeasts and wagon ready and we can keep them moving throughout the night."  
TA: "I don’t mind, it’s you that will be driving though, are you sure you’re okay with that Gamzee?" Sollux said, sounding worried.  
CG: "I can do it and if I get too tired I am sure that I can get Rufioh to drive for a little bit while I sleep." He said looking to Rufioh,  
TA: "Yeah, I'd do that" Rufioh nodded. Sollux snuggled up to Gamzee and kissed his cheek "Will we get going now then or do you guys want to rest more?"  
CG: "I will go and get the hoofbeasts and bring them this way. They will need water, so you can have until then." Gamzee said before kissing Sollux's cheek lovingly.  
TA: Sollux smiled "Okay" then yawned loudly.  
CG: Gamzee smiled and kissed him once more before he stood up to go. Karkat then shifted and pulled Rufioh down beside himself. "I hope that this all works out."  
TA: Rufioh wrapped his arms around Karkat and let him lean of him. "I'm sure it will"  
CG: Karkat smiled and moved a little to kiss him. He was still thinking about what the highblood had been saying and it still upset him a bit even as he tried to think of other things.  
TA: Rufioh kissed back and then nuzzled into him "I won’t let anyone hurt you, or the grub.... we’ll all make sure of that, dog"  
CG: Karkat smiled a little and then nuzzled into Rufioh. "I know what he said isn’t for me, but I still worry that they might do that since this is the second time that I ran off and if they bring me back again I don’t know what I would do."  
TA: "We will get you back if that happens, I promise....and I'm gonna be here for you and we'll raise the grub the best we can. You’re going to get through this..."  
CG: Karkat nodded and smiled. It was so easy to believe Rufioh's words and to truly believe that all that he said would happen just like that. "Flushed for you." he murmured softly as he nuzzled into Rufioh once more.  
TA: "Flushed for you too" He kissed his head. Sollux curled up and closed his eyes.  
CG: Karkat looked over at Sollux for a moment to make sure that he was alright before relaxing into Rufioh's embrace. It wasn’t long later that Gamzee returned with the hoofbeasts.


	11. Kisses and Compliments and Handjobs

TA: "Ready?" Rufioh asked Gamzee, stroking down Karkat's back.  
CG: Gamzee nodded. "Yeah, I watered them already, so we can leave as soon as those two are loaded." He said and went to pick up Sollux, so he could lay him in the back of the cart.  
TA: Sollux nuzzled into him and made a small noise. Rufioh scooped up Karkat and headed to the cart.  
CG: Karkat nuzzled into Rufioh at the movement and then remained still tired from all that had happened and sore as well. Gamzee climbed up into the cart and laid Sollux gently in the blankets before kissing his head and moving to go around to the front.  
TA: Sollux snuggled into the blankets as Rufioh climbed up into the cart and let Karkat down "You two better not cause trouble back here" Rufioh smiled.  
CG: Karkat playfully hit Rufioh at his words before shifting to lay with Sollux comfortably and almost instantly fell asleep there.  
TA: Sollux moved towards Karkat's warmth and snored softly in his sleep. Rufioh jumped down and walked around to the front "Out like a light, the both of them" he chuckled.  
CG: "Well both have had a long day I’m sure." he said as he got ready to drive. "But it’s better that they are sleeping so that they can’t cause trouble for the two of us up here."  
TA: "Yeah I'd rather not be shocked again." he laughed a little.  
CG: Gamzee chuckled. "Agreed. And you still haven’t felt more than just a small one."  
TA: "Oh jeez...you should really keep a better eye on him" Rufioh smiled.  
CG: "I do and it’s not when I’m looking that there is ever a problem. No more when I am beating some worthless motherfucker senseless because of something that I did." he said and shrugged.  
TA: Rufioh scoffed "You make it sound like that's alright? All I'm saying is.... that he's kinda your responsibility..."  
CG: "I know he is. And I do my best to take care of him and keep him happy." He said seriously as he got the hoofbeasts going. "It aint all up and easy sometimes ya know."  
TA: Rufioh looked to him "I can imagine, a troll like him seems like a hell of a stress..." he chuckled.  
CG: "Not stressful at all actually. At least not to me. It’s just hard to follow what he wants sometimes."  
TA: "What’s that supposed to mean?"  
CG: "Nothing really. There are things that I do more naturally that he doesn’t all up and approve of."  
TA: "Well yeah, having a murderous highblood as a matesprit must worry him"  
CG: Gamzee gave a low growl. "I am not murderous." he snapped.  
TA: "Gamzee....come on, how many trolls have you killed? I've heard the stories..."  
CG: "It want something I all up and wanted to do motherfucker." he growled.  
TA: "But you still did it" he said sternly.  
CG: "Are you telling me that you have never killed at all?"  
TA: "Only once, but that was different....my life was in danger."  
CG: "And you don’t think that some of my kills weren’t all up and because of that?"  
TA: "Some. Not all." he growled.  
CG: "Most actually." He growled back.  
TA: He shook his head "I've heard stories about the famous Gamzee Makara....getting high and doing whatever he wants.... but I guess when you came down you realised life wasn’t all that peachy"  
CG: "That’s where you are wrong. When I was high I was carefree, even more than I am now. Hell, at that time if I wanted to kill something I would zone out and not even realize it until hours later."  
TA: "And what about when you gave it up? I've heard that withdrawal symptoms can be pretty hard to deal with" he chuckled.  
CG: "I didn’t give it up. My ancestor took me from my hive and then forced all of it away from me. Hell, I wasn’t even allowed to sleep in a coon anymore. And then once the agitation kicked in he put me in fights where I had to kill, or I would be killed."  
TA: "You could have done something, you could have reasoned with them. Killing isn’t always the answer..."  
CG: "Sure when their choice is to fight until either they kill the highblood put into the arena with them or they are slowly tortured to death they are really going to listen to fucking reason."  
TA: "You have powers you still could have done something. Do you think I just gave up when it seemed like there was no way out?"  
CG: "How long do you think it takes to control these fucking powers?" he asked growling. "at that time, I could barely keep them from affecting myself every day."  
TA: "No offence man but.... If you knew you were a danger, why didn’t you just lock yourself up?"  
CG: Gamzee scoffed. "I tried once. Grand Highblood broke the door down and then made me stay somewhere that there weren’t any doors."  
TA: "Then you should have tried to leave...." he groaned "I don’t know why I’m even trying...you clearly think you're the victim in this"  
CG: "No. But you calling me the villain in this aint good. I didn’t want anythin that happened. And you are tryin to make it seem like I all up and wanted to do all that!"  
TA: "Because it seems to me like you did. Maybe that’s why you're keeping the little yellowblood around.... cos you know he can do more damage" he sniggered.  
CG: "If I wanted damage I would be pissing him off as much as I could." he said rolling his eyes.  
TA: He shook his head "Nah, you’re keeping him close, so you can use him"  
CG: "Not true. He can leave whenever the fuck he wants." he said steering the hoofbeasts through the trees.  
TA: "But he won’t want to leave, will he?" he grinned "Cos you’re giving him kisses and compliments and handjobs and everything else you know will make him stay"  
CG: "I don’t know it will make him stay. And besides I do that because I like him not because I think I have to."  
TA: "Sure....it just all seems a bit suspicious to me" he smiled and turned away.  
CG: "Oh? And so, is that why you do it to Karbro? Want to make sure that someone like him says with you and no one else."  
TA: Rufioh growled "Karkat needs someone like me. I've been flushed for him for sweeps and I've always taken care of him."  
CG: "Bust isn’t it funny how you didn’t seem to care or notice when he disappeared and then suddenly were all over taking him away from his moirail, so you can keep him to yourself?"  
TA: "I moved away, I thought he was still with his Lusus here....and he can do what he wants, he asked me to take him away"  
CG: "And how much convincing did you have to give him? And of course, when Sollux and I did arrive you just turned and ran off with him. I saw it, but I doubt Sollux did."  
TA: "You looked like you were all set to cull every troll in that camp, THATS why I ran.... I was trying to keep him safe from you two."  
CG: "No I was just defending Sollux who was attacked first without them asking any questions about it."  
TA: "I didn’t tell them to attack you, I was just keep Karkat and the grub safe"  
CG: "I didn’t say that you told them to attack me." He said. "But you could have stepped in and stopped it."  
TA: He shook his head. "Karkat is always going to be my priority"  
CG: Gamzee nodded. "I know that and that is why if fought those lowbloods that were attacking Sollux."  
TA: "Sollux isn’t carrying a Highblood’s grub." he said blatantly.  
CG: "Because he can’t." He said simply. Otherwise with all that they had been doing he most likely would have been.  
TA: Rufioh smirked "Don’t tell me you've ruined him that much?"  
CG: "He starts it about half of the time." Gamzee said chucking a bit.  
TA: Rufioh smiled "Is that why he sleeps so much? Saving his energy for you" he teased  
CG: "Or for himself as well. It aint just me ya know." he said "He can be pretty demanding at times."  
TA: Rufioh chuckled "Really? He doesn’t strike me as the kinky type..."  
CG: Gamzee shrugged. "You would be surprised at how much it’s the ones that you don’t expect them to be that are."  
TA: Rufioh laughed a little "I won’t ask, what you two get up to is your own deal...."  
CG: Gamzee chuckled a bit. "And I wasn’t about to all up and tell nothin else. He would kill me for it."  
TA: "Oh so it's Sollux that's stopping you...right" He chuckled and shook his head.  
CG: "No more like he is the one controlling everything." he said with a shrug as he got the hoofbeasts onto a main road.  
TA: He sniggered again and then sighed "Like I said, I won’t ask" he smiled "How did you two meet anyway.... trolls like you two don’t have much opportunity to cross paths."  
CG: "It was after he and Karbro were brought back to Grand Highblood's hive. He had gotten lost on his way back to his and Karbro's room and wound up walking into mine accidently. I helped him find his way back and then wound up keeping him company for a bit when the Empress first came over for a meal since he was all up and worried about being found by her."  
TA: "Ah, so you helped him out...that’s sweet"  
CG: "Of course." he said though he didn’t want to mention that he had accidentally gotten him drunk.  
TA: "So you’ve not known him that long then? A month or so?"  
CG: "Yeah only a little less than he has known Karbro really."  
TA: "The kid sure filled his quadrants fast" he chuckled.  
CG: "Yeah all but black and grey."  
TA: "You never know" He grinned.  
CG: "Yet then." He said rolling his eyes a little.  
TA: "And what about you.... Is it just Sollux or...?"  
CG: "Just Sollux right now. My last Kissmesis left sweeps ago."  
TA: "I'm sorry to hear that"  
CG: "Its fine. It was best for him anyway."  
TA: "I'm sure he's happy now, you must be too?"  
CG: "Honestly I do miss him a bit."  
TA: "Hey, I'm sure you'll find someone who makes you feel the same one day...."  
CG: "It aint gonna be easy to find someone that does it like him."  
TA: "Aw man...he got you bad huh?" he smiled.  
CG: "As much as I hate to admit it. And he was a lowblood too. I never thought that he would hit as hard as he did."  
TA: "Don't underestimate us lowbloods! We pack a punch or two"  
CG: "No but be was skinnier than Solbro naturally. He ate more than me and stayed like that all the time."  
TA: "Maybe you just think too highly of yourself"  
CG: "No I know what I can and can’t do and will admit to it."  
TA: "But you just didn’t think that a skinny lowblood could beat you like he did"  
CG: "No I mean if you saw him you would think the same."  
TA: He shook his head "Nah, I see lowbloods as equals.... maybe you shouldn’t judge trolls so quickly"  
CG: "I normally don’t. I don’t see them as below me."  
TA: "But for him it was okay just because he was your kissmesis?" he looked to him.  
CG: "Are you kidding I didn’t look down on him even then. If anything, he did that more."  
TA: "Okay okay..." he held his hands up "I was only teasing you"  
CG: "I know. But I was being serious with that one."  
TA: "Whatever happened between you and your former kissmesis is none of my business and I’m sorry I even asked." he said, sounding a little annoyed.  
CG: "You don’t have to be sorry. And I think you are misunderstanding what I meant. My was talking about my last statement being very literal."  
TA: Rufioh pulled a face and it took a moment for him to think about it "Ooohh...right now I get it.... jeez Makara, I wouldn’t have thought you'd let someone 'look down on you'" he said with a grin.  
CG: "I didn’t /Let/ him do it. That bastard was strong, fast and knew where to hit." he said with a slight growl in his voice though it was obvious that it wasn’t towards Rufioh.  
TA: "Sounds like you really met your match huh?”  
CG: Gamzee nodded. "Yeah not to mention that chucklevoodoos didn’t seem to work on him."  
TA: "maybe he learned to resist them, like me"  
CG: Gamzee shrugged. "Honestly don’t know. Since even when I first tried using them on him it didn’t work."  
TA: "I guess some trolls are just immune"  
CG: "I guess." He said and shrugged.  
TA: "How long do we have" he asked, looking around  
CG: "Until what?" he asked looking over at him.  
TA: "Until we get to this 'safe place'"  
CG: "It will be about four weeks if things go well but it could be longer."  
TA: Rufioh looked to him with a shocked expression "Man, when you said it was a while away I thought you meant a day or two..."  
CG: "Nope this is a bit farther than that. Considering it’s not on this continent at all."  
TA: He rested his head back "Please tell me you’re joking"  
CG: "Sorry but no. I am being very serious here." he said and actually meant it.  
TA: Rufioh groaned and crossed his arms "I hope this is worth it."  
CG: "It should be. I just hope that those two will survive this trip without going crazy from being cooped up in there for so long."  
TA: "I hope I survive without going crazy from being with you for so long" he chuckled.  
CG: "Don’t worry you will get your private time with Karbro." He said chuckling a bit.  
TA: He hit Gamzee's arm "I didn’t mean it like that" he laughed.  
CG: Gamzee laughed. "Sure, you didn’t." he said teasingly since there really wasn’t much else to do at this time.  
TA: "Karkat is just a kid compared to me....and he's been through a lotta hardship." He smirked "I think it will take him a while for us to get to that stage"  
CG: "Yeah I can understand that. But still you never know with what he would want to do. He is good at surprising people." he said being honest there.  
TA: "Yeah, I know..." Rufioh nodded "If he's up for it then.... maybe? I mean..." he groaned "I dunno..."  
CG: "Well I guess just do what he wants would be the best option and if it turns out to be too much at the time then you wait."  
TA: "Yeah, I'm not going to do anything that he's not comfortable with.... he’s had enough of that..." he said quietly.  
CG: "That’s for sure." Gamzee said with a small nod. "But he is a survivor and he will get through this just like everything else."  
TA: "And we'll help him" he smiled at Gamzee.  
CG: "You and Solbro will. I probably won’t be much help."  
TA: "He's your friend, he will need you"  
CG: "I don’t really know what all I would be able to do other than play bodyguard to him and Sollux."  
TA: "Maybe that’s what he needs, someone he can constantly rely on"  
CG: Gamzee thought about that for a moment and then nodded. "Maybe."  
TA: "You’re not so bad...Karkat knows that" he smiled and laid a hand on his shoulder.  
CG: Gamzee looked at him. "Maybe but my temper is always a problem. And that is why I worry about some of this."  
TA: "It’s something you'll have to work on for sure...But you can probably do it"  
CG: "And if I can’t?" he asked since of course it was the one thing that he worried about.  
TA: Rufioh sighed "Then I'll have to keep them safe"  
CG: Gamzee nodded. "I trust that you will."  
TA: "Really?" he said flatly.  
CG: "If I can’t then you would be the only one who could really."  
TA: "I think your mate would have a hard time without you..."  
CG: Gamzee sighed. "I would rather him have a hard time without me then to have an impossible time with me."  
TA: "he's really flushed for you, as much as I don’t think he should be.... but I think he'd do everything he could to stay with you"  
CG: "Same with Karbro and you. I have a feeling that he has been flushed for you for either as long or longer than you have been for him."  
TA: He chuckled "Yeah...I didn’t make a move on him because I knew his Lusus would have probably culled me"  
CG: Gamzee laughed. "Was his lusus really that bad?"  
TA: "He was a great Lusus, but he really hated me. I think he knew I liked him to be honest"  
CG: "What makes you think that?" he asked curiously.  
TA: "He growled at me whenever I touched Karkat, and he kept asking Karkat what we did together and why a troll of my age didn’t have a mate yet" he smiled  
CG: Gamzee laughed a bit.  
CG: "Wow he was really onto you then."  
TA: "The thing is, I'm pretty sure Karkat was clueless"  
CG: "I could believe it. He was like that for a while when he first arrived at the hive actually."  
TA: "Yeah, that was one of the things I liked about him.... he was so innocent and naive"  
CG: "And over all a real fireball." he said shaking his head. "Hell, it took me three hours to even enter his room when he first arrived just, so I could say hi to him."  
TA: "Karkat is certainly a closed individual, it does take a while"  
CG: "How long did it take you to get him to let you in a bit?"  
TA: "Around half a sweep, then like another sweep to be allowed into his hive...even then I just snuck in most of the time."  
CG: Gamzee laughed. "So how did the two of you meet anyway? Karbro never talked about his past when I was around him."  
TA: "He used to throw stones at me when he saw me in the trees, he kept pestering me about my wings and my hair and really annoyed me at first.... then I came down and told him off and we ended up talking....and then we became friends..." he smiled at the memory.  
CG: Gamzee chuckled a little. "He really threw stones at you?" he asked "Why didn’t he just climb up the tree?"  
TA: "I think he did it purposefully to bug me, besides...the little tyke was only small"  
CG: "How old was he?" he asked curiously.  
TA: "Only 2 or 3 sweeps"  
CG: Gamzee instantly looked shocked at that. "How the fuck did his lusus let him out of the hive at that age?!"  
TA: "This is Karkat we are talking about, he probably wasn’t allowed but did it anyway"  
CG: Gamzee chuckled. "I can believe that. Did his lusus come get him when he would do that, or did he just give up and leave?"  
TA: "He did come and get him.... then he went crazy at me thinking I was the one persuading him to come out.... when in fact I was just chillin"  
TA: He shrugged  
CG: "That should have been a very interesting conversation and I am sure that Karkat didn’t help all that much with it."  
TA: "Nope" he chuckled "He was just looking for someone to blame it all on and get away with it"  
CG: Gamzee laughed a bit. "I can see him doing that honestly. And I bet his lusus believed him."  
TA: "Entirely, Karkat's Lusus thought he was a gift from above and that I was going to take him away" he laughed  
CG: Gamzee continued laughing at this. "I don’t see that in him at all. He is too deceptive for that."  
TA: "Yeah, Karkat is sneaky...more so than me" he grinned.  
CG: "That is true. I am sure that he could beat the empress herself with that."  
TA: "Hopefully it won’t come to that...."  
CG: "I think he may have already with several things."  
TA: He rolled his eyes "He really doesn't know when to stop"  
CG: "Nope that is one thing that he has never been able to do really."  
TA: "Well at least we know he'll stick up for us"  
CG: "That’s for sure. Though at times I do wonder why."  
TA: Rufioh looks down and sighs "Gamzee, you’re not as bad as you think..."  
CG: "Maybe not anymore but I am not as good as he seems to think."  
TA: "You’re a piece of trash and I don’t like you. But you do your best for Karkat and Sollux and that's enough to make you a troll who is worth something good. You’re working on your mistakes and....that’s admirable"  
CG: "Too bad I didn’t live closer to you and Karbro as a wriggler." he said smiling a little.  
TA: "Me and you would've gotten into a lotta trouble" he grinned.  
CG: "That I can believe!" He said laughing a bit at the thought.  
TA: "Aw man, you seem like the kind of guy that wouldn’t mind though"  
CG: "No I wouldn’t. If anything, it would have been welcomed compared to what I had."  
TA: "My wrigglerhood was pretty decent...until I got my job.... but I think you would have made it fun"  
CG: "What was your job?" he asked curiously?  
TA: "I uh...worked for Mindfang"  
CG: Gamzee looked over at him. "You are insane for that one."  
TA: Rufioh nodded slowly "I know...I hated it"  
CG: "I can imagine."  
TA: "I didn’t even want to do it.... I worked as an apprentice for someone else...just to get enough to pay for my hive...then I was passed on to work for her"  
CG: Gamzee shook his head. "From what I hear that’s what happens to quite a few trolls."  
TA: "I was with others that were in the same position....it wasn’t pleasant" He looked down.  
CG: "I can imagine. I have heard many stories about what she does and what she can do."  
TA: "She's a horrible troll....and she doesn’t deserve the riches she has" he said, spite in his voice.  
CG: Gamzee nodded. "I know that much."  
TA: "But it’s over now.... At least there’s that" Rufioh forced a smile.  
CG: Gamzee nodded. "Yeah you are free now and so is Karbro. And that is how it should stay."  
TA: "I'll never let them take him again" he growled.  
CG: "And he also has Solbro and I there to help make sure that doesn’t happen at all."  
TA: He turns to him "Thank you" the tone of his voice proving he meant his words dearly.  
CG: Gamzee nodded. "I may not feel for Karbro in the way that you and Sollux do at all, but I know that I don’t want him back there." He said then smirked. "If for nothing other than it will piss my ancestor off."  
TA: Rufioh laughed "You’re one hell of a troll Gamzee."  
CG: "I try.... sometimes." he said with a shrug.  
TA: Rufioh smirked and punched his shoulder. Sollux woke up groggily and rubbed his eyes.  
CG: Gamzee laughed a bit. Karkat groaned when Sollux moved and nuzzled into him a little more naturally looking for something to cuddle up to.  
TA: Sollux groaned too and wrapped his arms around Karkat, pulling him close.  
CG: Karkat smiled a bit in his sleep and nuzzled into him again and moving so he was laying closer to him loving the feel of Sollux's slightly cooler body.  
TA: Sollux nuzzled back and held him close, feeling the cosy warmth of his moirail. He brought one of his hand down and placed it gently on Karkat's bump.  
CG: Karkat slept soundly and started to dream a little about what it would be like living with everyone and having the grub.  
TA: Sollux caressed his bump gently, being careful not to wake him. He yawned and kept close to him.  
CG: Karkat purred a bit in his sleep both from the feeling of Sollux rubbing his stomach and from the dream that he was having.  
TA: Sollux continued and made a small noise as he felt a slight shift in Karkat's abdomen.  
CG: Karkat made a small noise when the movement happened and then was silent other than his purring once again. Every now and then Sollux would also be able to hear Gamzee and Rufioh talking or laughing.  
TA: Sollux turned his head to hear them better, he smiled at the thought of Rufioh and Gamzee getting on for once.  
CG: Karkat shifted a little into a more comfortable spot before making a small whimper.  
TA: Sollux turned to Karkat and frowned a little, hoping he was okay.  
CG: Karkat clung onto Sollux and continued to whine and whimper as his dream turned a bit darker.  
TA: Sollux petted his hair "Karkat?" he shook him gently.  
CG: Karkat didn’t wake up and only whined a bit louder.  
TA: "KK?" he said a little louder and sat up with him.  
CG: Karkat trembled still fast asleep and Gamzee frowned a bit as he heard Sollux's voice.  
TA: "Karkat, I think it's time for you to wake up now" he held him by his shoulders and shook him. "Are they alright?" Rufioh turned to Gamzee.  
CG: Gamzee shrugged and then stopped the hoofbeasts so that they could check on them. "I don’t know but maybe we should check." he said. Karkat stirred a bit but was held firmly in his dream.  
TA: "Karkat!" Sollux shouted and tried to calm him down.  
CG: Karkat's eyes flew open finally and he looked around scared and confused and trying to push himself away from Sollux. It was then that Gamzee opened the back of the cart.  
TA: "It's okay..." Sollux held onto him and stroked his hair. Rufioh closely followed Gamzee "Karkat?"  
CG: Karkat looked around for a moment before clinging to Sollux once again and trembling hard enough that Rufioh would be able to see it.  
TA: Rufioh hurried to him straight away and began rubbing his back. Sollux shoosh papped him and held him safely in his arms.  
CG: Karkat cling to Sollux more and would have held onto Rufioh as well if he didn’t feel like he was going to disappear from where he was by letting go. Gamzee climbed up into the wagon. "What happened?"  
TA: Sollux rocked him slowly "I think he had a nightmare"  
CG: Gamzee sighed a bit "Will he be alright?" he asked as he moved to get something out of one of the tied down boxes of supplies.  
TA: "I don’t know..." he said to Gamzee and continued to try and settle Karkat.  
CG: Gamzee dug around until he found what he was looking for and smiled. "Here get him to drink this." he said handing the bottle to Sollux.  
TA: He looked at the bottle "What is it?" he then looked up at Gamzee.  
CG: "Something that will help him. You don’t have to give him a lot but just get him to drink at least a mouthful. Two would be preferred but one will work."  
TA: "Not if I don’t know what it is" Rufioh said and grabbed the bottle from Sollux.  
CG: Gamzee said. "Just give it to him. He shouldn’t hear." he said knowing that it would freak some people out and he especially knew it would Karkat.  
TA: "Gamzee, I will cull you if this has any negative side effects" He warned then tilted the bottle into Karkat's mouth.  
CG: Karkat rejected it at first but then swallow slowly. "Trust me it won’t be anything bad."  
TA: Rufioh took the bottle away once he was sure he had enough and set it aside. Sollux cuddled him and held him close.  
CG: It didn’t take long for Karkat stopped shaking and then his body relaxed completely and then the only movement that he had was his breathing. Gamzee then went and picked up the bottle and closed it before putting it away. "That should help a bit."  
TA: "KK....I think your big softie of a matesprit wants to snuggle with you too" he smiled to Karkat and moved him a little into Rufioh's welcoming arms.  
CG: Karkat didn’t respond at all his eyes already most of the way closed as he was passed over. "I hate using that on him, but it was probably the best thing for now." Gamzee said sitting down.  
TA: Rufioh held Karkat and nuzzled into him. Sollux moves to sit away from them a bit but still near to Gamzee "What the hell did you feed him?"  
CG: "Black nectar wine." he said simply. It was an expensive drug that highbloods often used with their unruly slaves when they wanted to have fun with them. "He will pretty much be asleep in about ten minutes."  
TA: Sollux scowled and looked to him "I thought it was medicine or some shit"  
CG: "Do you know of a medicine for nightmares?" he asked seriously.  
TA: He rolled his eyes "I meant something to even out his breathing or heartbeat" Sollux crossed his arms and huffed.  
CG: Gamzee shrugged. "He will be fine and if anything will just have a small headache in the morning."  
TA: "Why the fuck do you even have that with you?" Sollux hissed.  
CG: "We get stopped by some highbloods that are going to be too much trouble and I invite them for a drink." he said grinning a bit proud of that.  
TA: "Gamzee, this is serious."  
CG: "He is fine Sollux and at least now he will be able to sleep through the night without waking up because of some bad dream. Or even worse not sleeping at all and being tired the next day."  
TA: "Would you drug me if I started having nightmares again?" He asked.  
CG: "No I wouldn’t. But I need Rufioh to be up with me while driving so that nothing happens if I get too tired and it didn’t seem like he was calming down any time soon. Besides you need to be able to sleep as well."  
TA: "I get it, Karkat being in pain is an inconvenience to you" Sollux stood up.  
CG: Gamzee sighed. "That isn’t what I was saying Solbro." He said knowing that no matter what he was going to get his butt chewed now.  
TA: "I'm going to get some fresh air" Sollux clambered out of the cart.  
CG: Gamzee sighed and sat down. He wanted to go after him, but he wasn’t sure if that was the good choice at the moment.


	12. Loads of room in the inn

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings for smut

TA: Sollux sat down on the road and hugged his legs, he hated being annoyed with Gamzee, but he also wanted the best for Karkat.  
CG: Gamzee looked over at Rufioh. "Any suggestions of what I should do?"  
TA: Rufioh chuckled "Try apologizing, explain what you were trying to do and get him off the road before someone runs him over."  
CG: Gamzee nodded. "You aren’t mad at me for my choice, do you?" he asked as he stood up and moved towards the edge of the cart.  
TA: Rufioh sighed, "He's sleeping peacefully, just don’t do it unless it’s really necessary...alright?"  
CG: "Trust me I don’t like using that on him especially since Dualscar used it mixed with purple day lily pollen which stops him from falling asleep and increases sensitivity to just about everything." He said "It was why I wouldn’t say what it was when he was still awake.  
TA: "I understand...he doesn’t need to know what happened..."  
CG: Gamzee nodded. "Thanks." he said before hoping out of the cart and going over and sitting next to Sollux. "Please don’t be mad at me Solbro." He said looking down. "I wasn’t trying to do anything to hurt him and I was really only trying to help."  
TA: Sollux didn’t look at him "You're not helping him by drugging him to keep him quiet"  
CG: "It wasn’t to keep him quiet Solbro. It was to help him. Would you want him to be how he was for hours on end or relaxed and able to sleep and maybe forget about what had happened to him?"  
TA: "Gamzee, you don’t get it! Substances like that could be harmful to the grub" he looked down "I don’t want to take any risks"  
CG: "Solbro it isn’t harmful to anything. Hell, I have even herd of some lusi giving it to wrigglers in small doses when they are having trouble sleeping. Not the actual wine of course but straight black day lily extract or mixed with water."  
TA: He shook his head "I don’t want anything unneeded in his system"  
CG: "Look Sol it’s not like I am just going to do that all the time. It was a one-time thing because I thought it would help."  
TA: He sighed and buried his head in his knees, moving to lean on Gamzee "I know..." his voice was muffled "I'm just being protective over them both...."  
CG: Gamzee nodded and held Sollux close. "I know Solbro and I understand that." he said. "So, do you forgive me?" he asked kissing his head softly.  
TA: Sollux whined "But you don’t understand it Gamzee" Sollux nuzzled him "I guess I'm just jealous"  
CG: Gamzee frowned a little obviously confused by that. "Jealous of what?" he asked since he didn’t know what there was to be jealous of for Sollux.  
TA: Sollux swallowed "I'm infertile, but I'm assuming you’ve already figured that out." he teared up a little "Karkat can carry the grub and more grubs after that if we want to and I will never be able to"  
CG: Gamzee kissed his cheek. "Solbro the only reason that Karbro can do that is because of his mutation." He said and held him close. "I don’t care if you can’t do that. I am still flushed for you and I will always be."  
TA: He shook his head "I've heard of other trolls managing it, trolls who have a normal blood type." he crawled up and hugged him "I'm so sorry..."  
CG: Gamzee paused and then hugged him back. "Don’t be. Maybe there is something that they did to make it, so they could do that. And if that is so then maybe you and I can investigate it if that is what you want."  
TA: He cried against him "It's my psiioniics, they reject the grub before it had any chance to form" he sniffed.  
CG: "You don’t know that Sollux." He said softly as he held onto him. "They may protect the grub more."  
TA: "No Gamzee, I've tried" he clung to him "I've already miscarried twice with my previous matesprit"  
CG: Gamzee sighed and held him closer. "I’m sorry and maybe there is something we can do to fix that but if not then it doesn’t matter."  
TA: He looked up to him, tears in his eyes "You don’t mind? It'll just be the two of us"  
CG: "If anything that is better." he said and playfully moved a hand down to Sollux's but. "It means that I will always have you to myself."  
TA: Sollux smiled weakly "And I guess we don’t have to worry about me getting pregnant accidentally"  
CG: "Nope so we can have our fun whenever you want." he said and kissed him.  
TA: Sollux kissed back and moved his hand to Gamzee waist.  
CG: Gamzee smiled and held him close for a few moments before hesitantly pulling away with a sigh. "I wish we had time for this right now."  
TA: Sollux whined "As soon as we get somewhere safe and warm and private, I'm gonna keep you up all night..."  
CG: Gamzee chuckled. "And I will keep you up and with me for the following day." he said teasingly as he kissed him again.  
TA: He kissed back happily and then pulled away a little "Promise?"  
CG: "Absolutely." He said before standing up with Sollux in his arms."  
TA: Sollux leaned on him and hummed softly "I can’t wait"  
CG: "Same here." he said. "So, are we driving through the night or stopping when we reach the village?"  
TA: "Whatever you'd rather, you have been driving for a long time already though"  
CG: "We are only about a five-minute drive from the village and it is your choice. Do you want to get to the place I am taking us faster or do you want to wait a night?"  
TA: "Maybe we should wait a night, just until Karkat has totally calmed down"  
CG: Gamzee nodded. "Alright I will let Rufioh know." He said as he got back to the cart.  
TA: Sollux hopped up and followed Gamzee. Rufioh was still cradling Karkat and looked up when they entered.  
CG: Gamzee smiled a bit. "We are stopping in the village. You can stay back here with Karbro if you like."  
CG: He said to Rufioh as he got to the cart.  
TA: "Alright, I’ll let you know if he wakes up...but something tells me he won’t"  
CG: "If you want to wake him I do have something for that." he said being serious with it.  
TA: Rufioh shook his head "No, it’s best to let him sleep I think" Sollux held Gamzee's hand "Mind if I sit at the front with you?"  
CG: "Of course." he said and kissed his forehead "I will open this up when we stop." he said and shut up the cart once again before going to help Sollux into the seat and then climb up himself.  
TA: Sollux sat down and leaned on Gamzee.  
CG: Gamzee smiled and then got the hoofbeasts moving once again.  
TA: Sollux smiled and hummed a little, knowing both his matesprit and moirail were safe gave him a large sense of relief.  
CG: Gamzee drove until they got to the town and then he quickly steered them to an inn. "We can stay here tonight." he said as he stopped and got down.  
TA: Sollux got down too and stretched a little.  
CG: Gamzee smiled and kissed him before heading back so that he could open the cart.  
TA: Rufioh nuzzled into Karkat and looked up to Gamzee when the cart was opened. "Where are we?"  
CG: "At the Inn. It should be safe and even if it isn’t no one will be able to do much to trolls like us." Gamzee said calmly.  
TA: Rufioh nodded and lifted Karkat up, bringing him out of the cart.  
CG: Gamzee stood at the entrance of the cart so he would be able to lock it up properly so none of their stuff was stolen. "Let’s go get the rooms and then I will deal with the hoofbeasts."  
TA: "Do you have enough to pay for the inn rooms?" Rufioh asked.  
CG: Gamzee raised an eyebrow at that. "Are ya really askin me that?"  
TA: Rufioh rolled his eyes "Alright, did you /bring/ enough to pay for the inn rooms?"  
CG: Gamzee chuckled a bit. "Of course, I did. Hell, I brought enough to buy most of the buildings in this village."  
TA: Rufioh smirked "Alright Mr Arrogance, how many rooms will I ask for then?  
TA: "  
CG: "We will get two. One for Solbro and myself and one for you and Karbro." he said knowing that in a place like this the price of two rooms would be less than the allowance that he would get.  
TA: Rufioh nodded, awestruck at how the highblood seemed to throw money around, then went into the inn.  
CG: Karkat gave a small nuzzle into Rufioh as he was moved and then Gamzee went into the inn with the others, so he could pay for the rooms.  
TA: Rufioh nuzzled back and kissed his forehead as Sollux moved to lean on the front desk of the inn's reception.  
CG: Gamzee looked around but had figured that the owners would be asleep and by the looks of things there wasn’t anyone else staying there right now. He was just about to call out when someone came through one of the doors farther in the inn.  
TA: Sollux turned his head to look when he heard the door open.  
CG: A tall woman who looked to be an olive blood smiled at them "Hello there. What can I do for you?" she asked before another troll came out of the same door.  
TA: "Do you have any rooms free, doll?" Rufioh asked calmly with a friendly smile. The other troll who came out with her gave the group an odd look.  
CG: "Of course. How many do you want?" She asked with a smile as she went to pull out a book, so she could write everything down.  
TA: "Two rooms, there doesn’t need to be any more than one bed in each"  
CG: She gave a smile at that. "I suppose that I should put you all where there won’t be much sound coming from the rooms." she said and Gamzee held in a chuckle at that.  
TA: Rufioh blushed at her words "Uh....just wherever you have free.... don’t worry..." the other member of staff at the inn just laughed.  
CG: The female troll looked at him. "Hush Vanion. It’s obvious that he won’t be having any problems since it seems young one with him is fast asleep. Though the other two I can assume will definitely need that kind of room. Won’t you sweetie?" she said looking to Sollux.  
TA: Vanion was silent for a few moments until he heard his colleague's remark and he hid his giggles behind his hand. Sollux looked to her with wide eyes and bit his lip "Um..." he cleared his throat a little "Depends on how loud this one's gonna be" he said, gesturing to Gamzee with a smile.  
CG: Gamzee raised an eyebrow down at him. "You are all up and the one who makes the most sound Solbro." he said sliding hid hand down, so it was on Sollux's ass teasingly. The female troll placed a hand over her mouth as he laughed a bit.  
TA: Sollux moved closer to Gamzee and leaned up to place a kiss and a small bite on his neck "Okay then, depends on how loud you're gonna make me call" he smiled.  
CG: Gamzee smiled and held him close. "I can’t guarantee nothin." he said into his ear. "Alright then so two rooms will be 80 coins." she said figuring that she should get the two into their room before anything went much farther than it was already going.  
TA: Vanion walked forward and held his hand out for the money and Sollux reached into Gamzee's pocket slowly.  
CG: Gamzee caught Sollux's hand and kissed it as he pulled the money out on his own and handed a small coin purse to them. "A little extra for any new sheets or anything else that you might need."  
TA: Vanion chucked and took the money and spoke in a chirpy voice "Enjoy your stay! Oh, how many nights are you all staying?"  
CG: "Only tonight. We have somewhere that we need to be, and it is a long way from here." He said before looking down at Sollux. "So, if you don’t mind I would like to be shown to the room now." he said already feeling his bulge starting to move inside its sheath knowing that it would be needed soon.  
TA: Sollux smiled up at him and dragged his fingers down Gamzee's chest slowly. Vanion nodded and turned to the other troll "Do you wanna show them or shall I?"  
CG: "I can show them." She said. "You just go back to our room and I will be there shortly." she smiled at the male and twirled around which make her skirt fly up just barely enough for the male to see what was underneath. She then led the way to a stairwell so that she could lead them all to the rooms.  
TA: Vanion gazed and grinned before nodding "I'll be waiting..." he purred and hurried off through a different door. Rufioh walked slowly to follow the female troll so not to wake Karkat.  
CG: She laughed a bit at the male's reacting and continued up. She came to the first room that was for them and opened the door. "Here you go this will be your room." she said to Rufioh.  
TA: "Thanks doll!" Rufioh smiled a bowed a little "And uh...sorry 'bout the other two" he said, a little more hushed.  
CG: "Any time." she said and then laughed a bit at his next words. "Don’t worry. I actually find it quite amusing to see a that small yellowblood being so pushy with the highblood. It’s rare to see something like that."  
TA: Rufioh smirked "They are certainly rather active....and they know each other’s weak points too.... the yellowblood kid freaking adores Gamzee, and of course he returns the favour...." he laughed a bit "No matter where they are"  
CG: "So I can see." She said as she looked back and saw Gamzee very close to groping Sollux through his pants. "But it’s better than some of the things that I get in here."  
TA: Sollux purred and looked up and Gamzee lovingly. "I can imagine..." Rufioh said seriously and glanced at Karkat.  
CG: "Get some sleep. That little one in your arms looks like he can be quite the handful." She said and handed a key to Rufioh.  
TA: Rufioh took the key and smiled with a small nod "Thanks doll" then turned and went through the door to find somewhere comfortable to lay Karkat down.  
CG: In the room there was a large bed that could easily hold twice the amount of people who would be occupying it. There was also a small recuperacoon in the far corner for anyone small enough to be able to fit.  
TA: Rufioh went through and looked at both the bed and the recuperacoon, he laid Karkat down on the bed as he knew that they didn’t have much spare clothes and he didn’t want to undress Karkat without him knowing to get him into the coon. He brought the blankets up to Karkat's chin and tucked them around him carefully.  
CG: Karkat shifted slightly in his sleep when he was covered with the blankets and almost looked as if he was searching for something which he pretty much was. The female troll chuckled. "Alright you two keep your clothes on until you get to your room." She said with a smile as she motioned for them to follow her.  
TA: Rufioh crawled into the bed with him and pulled him close to his chest, he was almost curled around his body in an effort to keep him as safe and warm as possible. Sollux held onto Gamzee's hand and nearly dragged him to follow her, wanting to get to the room quickly.  
CG: Gamzee followed Sollux and his eyes were only on his little psiioniic. He licked his lips a little as he followed his eyes almost clearly on Sollux. She arrived at another door and opened it up. "This room is almost completely sound proof so you shouldn’t have to worry about anything." She said and handed the key to Sollux since he seemed to be the only one who would be able to do anything with it at this point.  
TA: Sollux took the key and smiled at her "Thanks" usually he would think twice about openly displaying his pleasure to a stranger but he was in the sort of mind state where all he could think about was Gamzee and what he was going to do to him when they were alone.  
CG: Gamzee didn’t exactly let Sollux say much more than the thanks before he was pushing him in more and then closing the door. The female troll laughed before heading back down to the waiting male. Gamzee instantly captured Sollux's lips once the door was shut and started to pull his shirt up and off of the smaller male.  
TA: Sollux gasped a little and then kissed back hungrily, tugging and pulling at Gamzee's hair, he only broke the kiss to allow Gamzee to take his shirt off over his head before returning to it longingly. "Mmph..."  
CG: Gamzee held onto Sollux tightly and pulled him flush against his body after a moment he shifted and then lifted Sollux up and held him there as he headed towards the bed.  
TA: Sollux made a small noise and then purred against him, he felt the crotch of his pants dampen as his nook grew needy for attention.  
CG: Gamzee reached the bed and then laid Sollux down and quickly, and clumsily, taking the other's pants off before quickly stripping himself. Once he finished Gamzee was on top of Sollux, kissing him and then biting down his neck  
TA: Sollux spread his legs and wrapped his arms around Gamzee, clawing at his back to make long purple marks. He leaned forward and kissed the base of Gamzee's horn.  
CG: Gamzee shivered at the kiss on his horn and then felt as his bulge finally slipped out of its sheathe no longer able to be contained.  
TA: Sollux sucked at the base of his horn and moaned quietly as he felt Gamzee's bulge against him and his own squirmed out.  
CG: Gamzee nipped a little harder at Sollux's collarbone accidentally drawing a little blood. He pulled his mouth away and then licked the few drops that were there.  
TA: Sollux didn’t complain and hummed as he felt Gamzee's tongue and teeth on him, he moved his hand up and rubbed at the taller troll's horn, scratching a little.  
CG: Gamzee moaned at the feeling and he shifted before slowly pushing into Sollux lovingly. It felt amazing to be inside him once again and it had been too long since he had last been.  
TA: A wide smile grew on Sollux's face as Gamzee's warm bulge pushed into him, he loved the feeling and purred happily.  
CG: Gamzee smiled and as soon as he was fully sheathed inside him he moved so he could smile down at Sollux. "Rufioh is going to have to do some driving tomorrow." he said softly before kissing him and then moving his hips.  
TA: He smiled and moaned a little, tightening around his bulge.  
CG: Gamzee moved a bit faster when Sollux tightened around him.  
TA: He moaned louder and arched his back, loving how far in Gamzee could reach inside him.  
CG: Gamzee smiled at Sollux's actions loving how he was the one who was able to make him sound like that.  
TA: Sollux gripped his hair and pulled Gamzee down to kiss him deeply.  
CG: Gamzee kissed him instantly and gently nipped Sollux's lower lip as he did.  
TA: Sollux purred into the kiss and rolled his hips up every time Gamzee's came down. He pushed his tongue into his mouth and explored his taste.  
CG: Gamzee purred at Sollux and began to thrust faster and harder into Sollux.  
TA: Sollux moaned more and let a few sparks of psiioniics against him.  
CG: Gamzee chuckled. "Your always so shocking." he said before kissing him again.  
TA: Sollux smiled and bit at his lip, tugging and drawing a little blood with his fangs.  
CG: Gamzee purred louder as his lip was cut and he gave a harder thrust into Sollux before reaching down and beginning to stroke him.  
TA: Sollux moaned loudly and his bulge squirmed and coiled around his hand.  
CG: Gamzee stroked the bulge and did his best to give Sollux as much pleasure as he could.  
TA: Sollux sucked on his lip and then yelped a little.  
CG: Gamzee pulled back a bit when he heard the yelp. "You ok?"  
TA: Sollux nodded and then squeezed his eyes shut "G-Gamzee...." he moaned "I’m close…”  
CG: Gamzee smiled and kissed him deeply and started to thrust faster and leaving plenty of marks all over Sollux's body.  
TA: Sollux fidgeted and arched his back again, throwing his head back and calling out loudly "Ga-Gamzee..."  
CG: "Cum for me Sollux." he murmured into Sollux's ear still thrusting fast and hard.  
TA: Sollux shivered at his words and yelped again, his bulge spewed thick yellow as well as his nook, coating Gamzee's bulge.  
CG: Gamzee moaned and after one more hard thrust he buried himself as deep as he could and came with him.  
TA: Sollux screamed out in pleasure as he was filled and clung to his mate.  
CG: Gamzee held him close and kissed him as his body gave small shakes until he finished. When he did he smiled down at Sollux and kissed him.  
TA: Sollux kissed back quickly and tangled his fingers in his hair before pulling away a little and pressing their foreheads together "Flushed for you"  
CG: Gamzee smiled down at Sollux and smiled. "Flushed for you too." he said and kissed his nose lovingly.  
TA: Sollux smiled back and hummed gently.  
CG: Gamzee nuzzled him happily. He never wanted to leave how they were right now but he knew that it couldn’t be like that.  
TA: Sollux hugged him tightly and nuzzled into his shoulder, despite all the horrific things that had happened to them all over their time together, Sollux was the happiest he had been in a long time here with Gamzee where he felt safe and loved.  
CG: Gamzee shifted and turned so that he was more on his side and holding onto Sollux. He couldn’t imagine what his life would be if he didn’t meet Sollux and in truth he didn’t want to.  
TA: Sollux snuggled into his chest and kissed his skin softly.  
CG: Gamzee smiled and kissed the top of his head gently.  
TA: Sollux gave Gamzee's chest small licks and purred to him.  
CG: Gamzee chuckled and purred back and began to play with Sollux's hair happily.  
TA: Sollux smiled and nuzzled his head into Gamzee's hand.  
CG: Gamzee smiled "Your adorable. You know that?" he said softly and happily.  
TA: Sollux smirked and looked up at him "What?"  
CG: Gamzee smiled. "You. Are. Adorable." he said again slower this time.  
TA: Sollux blushed a little and shook his head, "I'm not"  
CG: "Yes you are." he said and kissed the blushing cheeks of the other. "You are the most adorable."  
TA: He chuckles "You are the most handsome"  
CG: Gamzee smiled. "I don’t know if I am the most handsome." he said and kissed him softly.  
TA: "You are" he kissed him "Infact, I don’t know a single troll who is more handsome than you"  
CG: Gamzee smiled and kissed him back. "Well then maybe we should try to find one." he said teasingly.  
TA: Sollux sniggered "I don’t think I could enjoy them as much as I enjoy you"  
CG: Gamzee laughed a bit and then kissed him again. "Perhaps you should go to sleep."  
TA: He smiled and yawned a little, nodding. "Can I sleep with you still in me?"  
CG: Gamzee laughed a bit louder and just held him closer and nuzzled his face into Sollux's hair.  
TA: Sollux curled up to him and closed his eyes, smiling.  
CG: Gamzee placed a small kiss on the other's head and then fell asleep.  
TA: Sollux fell asleep soon after and purred softly as he dreamed.  
CG: Gamzee slept easily through the night and kept Sollux flushed against him the entire time that they slept.  
TA: Sollux snoozed softly and then blinked awake several hours later.  
CG: Gamzee was still fast asleep when Sollux woke up. Karkat thanks to the drink slept soundlessly through the entire night but when he opened his eyes in the unfamiliar place his heart instantly began to race and he jerked awake and moved to get out of the blankets out of instinct.  
TA: Sollux groaned a little and snuggled up to Gamzee more. Rufioh woke up as soon as Karkat moved and quickly held onto his arm. "Karkat, its okay....you’re safe here......I’m with you its alright" he said soothingly.  
CG: Gamzee nuzzled into Sollux a bit in his sleep happily. Karkat looked over at Rufioh his body tense before he calmed down a bit and instantly clung to him.  
TA: Rufioh kissed his head and sat up with him "We are in an inn, Gamzee rented us this room and him and Sollux are down the corridor....we are all safe"  
CG: Karkat relaxed more and nuzzled into Rufioh. "When did we get here?" he asked since he didn’t remember being given the drink or anything after it.  
TA: "Sometime yesterday afternoon...you woke up after a nightmare and it took us a while to calm you back down again..." he lied, not really wanting to tell him the truth.  
CG: Karkat thought about that. "When did I must have fallen asleep during it." he murmured softly since it was a logical thing to think with what he had been told.  
TA: "Yeah....you were certainly tuckered out" he petted his hair "You feeling okay?"  
CG: Karkat nodded and leaned into the hand. "Yeah I feel a lot better now." he said and it was true.  
TA: Rufioh kissed his cheek "You don’t have to tell me if you don’t feel like it but....do you remember what your nightmare was about?"  
CG: Karkat buried his face into Rufioh's chest. "I had the grub. And after about a week of being with it and you. Grand Highblood found us."  
TA: Rufioh held him close and kissed his head "it's alright...."  
CG: Karkat nuzzled into him. "I hope this place that we are going will really be safe."  
TA: "I hope so too....Gamzee better not be lying"  
CG: "I don’t think he will. If we get caught then Sollux is in danger too." he said softly.  
TA: Rufioh nodded and rocked Karkat gently, "You’re going to be okay"  
CG: Karkat smiled softly. "Flushed for you." he said softly and closed his eyes peacefully.  
TA: "Flushed for you too Karkat" he kissed him softly.  
CG: Karkat kissed back and then nuzzled into him. "Can we get something to eat?"  
TA: "Yeah, theres probably stuff downstairs" he said and lifted him up.  
CG: Karkat smiled and held onto him. "Good because I am hungry and my mouth is really dry."  
TA: Rufioh smiled and spun him around a little "The owners here are nice, theyll have something"  
CG: Karkat held on a bit tighter and laughed a little as he was spun around. "I can’t wait to meet them then."  
TA: Rufioh opened the door and headed out with Karkat in his arms still.  
CG: Karkat rested his head on Rufioh's shoulder and smiled as he was carried.  
TA: Rufioh walked down into reception to see that it was once again empty, he waited for a few moments before dinging the bell on the desk once.  
CG: When the bell was rung the same lady from the night before came out of the same door but in just a slightly different outfit "Oh I see your little friend is awake now." She said smiling at Karkat.  
TA: "He sure is" Rufioh said proudly and nuzzled into Karkat before turning back to her "Do you know of anywhere good to eat?"  
CG: She smiled. "There are plenty of places you can eat. Though if you want the best I suggest that you go about three buildings down to the left. They always have good food there." she said and moved back to the desk and wrote something down on a piece of paper. "Give this to the guy in charge and he will give serve you for free."  
TA: Rufioh nodded and took the paper "Thanks doll! Would you mind telling our friends where we are?....if they ever come out that is" he chuckled.  
CG: "Of course!" She said with a wide smile. "As soon as they come out I will point them right in your direction."  
TA: Rufioh gave her a wide smile and was about to thank her again when Vanion came through and leaned on the door frame of the door behind the front desk "Azleth, honey" he smiled at the taller female troll "Room three has reported some minor damage"  
CG: Azleth frowned. "How much damage?" she asked then shook her head. "Never mind I don’t want to know. Go and kick good for nothing trash back to the street." She said. Room three was one of the rooms between the rooms that Rufioh and Gamzee had been in with their mates.  
TA: Vanion saluted and then went up on his tiptoes to kiss her cheek "It would be my pleasure" he said then moved round the desk to the corridor where the rooms were, smiling at Karkat and Rufioh on his way past.  
CG: Karkat blinked at the two of them before Azleth turned back to them and smiled. "Sorry about that. So go and have a good breakfast. And if you need anything else just say so." she said. She then was able to hear as her mate started to deal with the trouble maker.  
TA: "No worries, and thank you again!" Rufioh smiled and carried Karkat out of the inn, gently letting his down onto his feet.  
CG: Karkat laughed a bit as soon as his feet were on the ground. "Well they sure are a strange looking couple." he said as he leaned against Rufioh.  
TA: "We are a strange looking couple" Rufioh commented and ruffled Karkat's hair.  
CG: "Not as strange as those two." he said smiling.  
TA: "I dunno about that" he says and takes his hand, beginning to walk to where Azleth instructed.  
CG: Karkat held onto his hand happily and walked beside him.  
TA: They got to the building and Rufioh looked around for someone in charge.  
CG: Someone greeted them almost right away. "Hello. Is it just the two of you today?" he asked. He was a redblooded who seemed to be only about 7 sweeps old."  
TA: Rufioh smiled "Yeah, we are staying at Azleth's and Vanion's inn....she told me to show you this?" he passed over the paper.  
CG: The male took the paper and looked over it then nodded. "Follow me." he said and led them to a table so they could sit down.  
TA: Rufioh takes out Karkat's chair for him to sit down first.  
CG: Karkat smiled and sat down and pulled Rufioh into a kiss before he could move away.  
TA: Rufioh kissed back and hummed a little before pulling away with a smile and sitting down opposite him.  
CG: The troll handed them a couple of menus. "I be back in a minute so take your pick of anything you would like."  
TA: "Thanks" Rufioh smiled at them and started to look at the menu.  
CG: The troll nodded and headed off. "I wonder what the note was." Karkat said once the other troll was gone. He then picked up his own menu and looked it over and almost instantly started to want a lot of what he saw on it.  
TA: "I'm hoping it was nothing serious" Rufioh said and scanned down the menu.  
CG: "I’m sure it wasn’t." he said still looking over everything and trying to figure out what he wanted. Not long after the waiter came back and placed some glasses of water on the table. "Do you know what you would like to drink?" he asked.  
TA: "I'll have a glass of orange juice please" He smiled.  
CG: "I'll have milk." Karkat said and the waiter nodded and then went to go get it as Karkat kept looking at the menu. "What sounds good to you?"  
TA: "I'm thinkin the oink-beast meat....with all the sides" he smiled up at him but then made a face "Karkat....are you okay with readin that menu?" he asked, he knew Karkat still couldn’t read when Rufioh left him before Karkat was taken but he didn’t know if he had learned in that time.  
CG: Karkat blushed a little. "There are some pictures." he said since he really couldn’t read much on the menu other than a couple words that werent all that helpful.  
TA: Rufioh got up and walked round, he leaned over Karkat and pointed to some of the words on the menu. "So this side is the breakfast menu, theres oink-beast meat, waffles, pancakes, toast, bread, eggs in every form you can think of, black pudding...which is like beast blood mashed with oats and spices...and everything comes with stuff like beans or sauces or some vegetables..." he kissed his head.  
CG: Karkat smiled a bit and looked at it all and tried to pick out a bit of what Rufioh was talking about but it would take more than what Rufioh was saying. "Hmm...." He thought then pointed to a picture that looked good and looked like it had mostly meat type breakfast foods on it. "Whats that one?"  
TA: "Accordin to this it looks like different types of sausages with vegetables and seasoning"  
CG: Karkat smiled. "That sounds pretty good." He said though he wasn’t sure if he would eat a lot of the vegetables.  
TA: "Bangarang" He chuckled and kissed his cheek before getting up and sitting back in his seat.  
CG: Karkat smiled and then looked over as the waiter came out with the drinks.  
TA: Rufioh smiled to the waiter and sipped his drink when it came.  
CG: "So what would you two like to eat?" he asked as he pulled out a little notepad.  
TA: "I'll have the oink-beast meat with all the extras and my little carnivore over here will have the meat plate please" he said and winked at Karkat.  
CG: Karkat smiled at Rufioh at his words. And the waiter nodded and wrote it all down then took the menus. "Alright." He said and then he turned so he could get the orders started with the chef.  
TA: "Y'know, I could always try and teach you how to read and write the way my Lusus taught me....that way you could teach the grub when they are old enough"  
CG: Karkat smiled "I would like to learn for more than just being able to teach the grub." he said since it was a pain sometimes when he wasn’t able to do something because he couldn’t read.  
TA: Rufioh rolled his eyes and smiled "Okay.... So I could try and teach you so you could go and become a famous scholar or somethin"  
CG: Karkat laughed. "Yeah famous for beating my students over the head with the books they should read." he said laughing.  
TA: Rufioh laughed "Now now, professor Vantas....that wouldn't be very good conduct for your career" he said in a posh accent.  
CG: "That little fucker deserved it. Did you see how he wrote that fucking thing?" he said playfully as he looked at Rufioh and handed him a napkin as if it was some kind of paper with writing on it.  
TA: Rufioh took the napkin and pretended to adjust glasses on his face and peer at the paper. "Hm...." he held up a finger in the air and closed his eyes, nose turned up "After reading this rubbish I can conclude that it was appropriate to beat the student" he continued in his posh accent.  
CG: Karkat laughed not able to hold it in anymore after that, especially with he accent that Rufioh was using right then. "That would most definitely be how all of that would go."  
TA: Rufioh burst out laughing when Karkat did and tossed the napkin at him. "Maybe you shouldn’t become a teacher then"  
CG: Karkat caught the napkin and smiled. "Well then I guess you are going to have to stick around to help me teach the grub."  
TA: Rufioh huffed dramatically and rolled his eyes "I suppose if I HAVE to..."  
CG: "Yep you do." Karkat said smiling. "Do you have a way to start with teaching me?  
TA: "Hitting you on the head with books usually works" he said calmly.  
CG: Karkat rolled his eyes. "Ha ha ha." He said and then threw the napkin back at Rufioh though it was crumpled up.  
TA: Rufioh clutched the area it hit and then made a weak whimpering noise "I've been hit....I'm going down Karkat....the power of the napkin was too strong...."  
CG: Karkat covered his face and shook his head. "You are such a wriggler sometimes Rufioh."  
TA: Rufioh grinned and sat up "I know....but thats why you stick around...cheesy jokes and personal 'Karkat lifter-upper"  
CG: Karkat smiled. "Hate to say it but you are right about that." he said and then turned as he smelled the food coming and grinned.  
TA: Rufioh chuckled and looked up when he saw the food.  
CG: The waiter set the plates down. "Here you two are. Is there anything else that you need?"  
TA: "Can I get some red sauce please if thats alright?"  
CG: The waiter nodded. "Of course I will be right back with." he said after Karkat shook his head to needing anything.  
TA: Rufioh rubbed his hands together and smiled "This looks good"  
CG: Karkat nodded. "It does and it smells even better." he said and picked up one of the sausages and bit into it and almost moaned with how good it was.  
TA: Rufioh smirked and reached over the table, he picked up the fork beside Karkat's plate and held it out to him.  
CG: Karkat looked at the fork and rolled his eyes "Really?" he asked looking at Rufioh as he took another bite of the sausage that was in his hand.  
TA: Rufioh gave him a look "Um yes. We may not be paying ere but that doesn’t mean we have to act like scavengers"  
CG: Karkat sighed and finished the sausage that he had been eating and then wiped his hand quickly before taking the fork. "Fine but I don’t see why I need it for this."  
TA: "Jab the sausage with the fork and eat it from there. Or cut it into small bits and eat it bit by bit." He sighed "....Am I going to have to teach you table manners too?"  
CG: "Of course not!" He snapped a bit though it had been a long time since he had actually had to use them. He stabbed one of the sausages and started to eat it.  
TA: Rufioh sighed again and started to eat his food with his cutlery.  
CG: The waiter came back then with the sauce. "Here you are." he said before going once again. Karkat looked up at Rufioh and then down at his plate for a moment before stabbing one of the sausages and putting it on Rufioh's plate.  
TA: Rufioh looked at it for a moment before shuffling a rasher of bacon onto his fork and putting it on Karkat's plate.  
CG: Karkat smiled a bit and then took a bite of the bacon and smiled happy at the taste. Of it all.  
TA: Rufioh ate some of the sausage and smiled "That is good"  
CG: Karkat nodded. "It has a lot of flavour in it that I thought that it never would." he said smiling happily.  
TA: Rufioh shrugged "I guess so...any idea what beast this is from?" he pointed to the sausage.  
CG: Karkat thought. "I don’t know it doesn’t taste like oink beast."  
TA: He chewed it a little more "Maybe moo-beast?"  
CG: Karkat shrugged. "I don’t know maybe." he said "I don’t really care so long as it is this good."  
TA: "Yeah it tastes amazing....I can’t believe we are eating here for free"  
CG: "I like that inn keeper. She is by far the best that I have ever met."  
TA: "Yeah, she was totally chill around Sollux and Gamzee too....which was surprising considering the way they were acting"  
CG: Karkat shook his head. "And what exactly where they doing....Wait actually I think I have a pretty good idea of what it could be." he said shaking his head.  
TA: Rufioh nodded "Yup, I though they were close to pailing eachother right there and then....its a good thing you were asleep"  
CG: Karkat nodded. "I can agree with that one. I don’t really want to be seeing that." he said smiling.  
TA: "Lets agree that next time they start gettin all intimate in public....we should spray them with those water bottles you get for training woof-beasts" Rufioh grinned.  
CG: Karkat laughed instantly at that and nodded. "I think that would be a great idea. And if that doesn’t work we can get some ice water and dump it on them."  
TA: Rufioh laughed "Yeah, hey if they are gonna act and mate like beasts then they deserve to be treated like them"  
CG: Karkat nodded. "Yeah....well mostly Gamzee." he said "Sollux isn’t as bad."  
TA: Rufioh raised his eyebrows, "Karkat you should have seen him, he was practically drooling"  
CG: Karkat chuckled. "Its all Gamzee's fault."  
TA: "I dunno if he's entirely to blame"  
CG: "Of course he is." Karkat said smiling.  
TA: Rufioh shook his head "and how is that?"  
CG: "Because it is Gamzee and Sollux is my moirail."  
TA: "Exactly, he's your moirail so you don’t see that side of him"  
CG: Karkat shrugged. "I think I see it a bit more than most would."  
TA: "More than Gamzee?" he chuckled.  
CG: Karkat nodded. "Yep. Gamzee is only looking for the good things. But as a moirail I am supposed to watch out for the bad things so I can help with them.  
TA: Rufioh narrowed his eyes "You said its all Gamzee's fault....is Gamzee a bad thing you've noticed?"  
CG: "Gamzee is the cause of some of the problems but the only reason that I don’t chase him off is because he is also good for Sollux and helps him a lot too."  
TA: "What kind of problems? He seems very reliant on him...."  
CG: "There are a few. But I think it is good because if he were to spark and be touching me it would hurt a lot more than it hurts Gamzee when it happens."  
TA: "Because Gamzee is stronger or because he's used to it?"  
CG: "I think it is because of how his skin is tougher than mine."  
TA: "Yeah....to be honest with you...if it werent for the fact that he's your moirail, I would have gotten rid of him already."  
CG: Karkat frowned a little more curious than upset for the moment. "Why is that?" he asked with a slightly tilted head.  
TA: "He didn’t hesitate to try and shoot me....I would have fought back more than I did"  
CG: Karkat nodded a bit. "He was worried and he thought that you were going to do something bad. He was also angry."  
TA: "I know, but I would have hurt him a lot more than I did if you didn’t care so much about him"  
CG: Karkat nodded. "I know." he said not actually mad at Rufioh for his feelings with all that.  
TA: Rufioh sighed and ran his hand through his own hair "Anyway....thats all over now"  
CG: Karkat nodded. "Yeah. Its over and lets hope that we never get to a place like that again."  
TA: "Yeah..." Rufioh didn’t want to think about what he would do if it did happen again.  
CG: Karkat started eating again. "What do you want Rufioh?" He asked looking up at him.  
TA: "Hm?" he looked up and chuckled.  
CG: "Whats so funny?" he asked when he heard the chuckle.  
TA: "You asked me what I wanted?"  
CG: "Yeah. Whats so funny about that?"  
TA: "Well its an odd question to suddenly ask"  
CG: Karkat shrugged. "Well I want to know and I figured that if I waited until later then it wouldn’t be almost impossible to really be able to ask."  
TA: "I want you to be happy, Karkat, I always have"  
CG: "Alright but besides that. What do you want."  
TA: "I don’t know what you mean? I want everything to finally work out"  
CG: Karkat looked down a bit and nodded. "And it will. I’m sure that it will." he said trying to sound sure.  
TA: Rufioh sighed "We are going to do our best"  
CG: Karkat nodded. "Yeah that is for sure." he said smiling.  
TA: Rufioh smiles and finishes up his food.  
CG: Karkat finishes his food soon after and sat back happily.


	13. Maybe the Sufferer was Trying to Compensate for Something?

TA: "Did that fill you up?" Rufioh smiled.  
CG: "Surprisingly yes it did." he said grinning as he rubbed his stomach which he was sure had grown more from him eating.  
TA: "Well, you are eating for two I suppose....how’s that all going by the way?"  
CG: "I am hungry more but there is less that doesn’t make me want to puke when I eat it."  
TA: "That can’t be easy....I'm sure Gamzee will pay for whatever is easier to eat"  
CG: Karkat nodded. "Yeah it just sucks because somethings I know that I like but when I eat them they make me sick."  
TA: Rufioh groans "You've not got that long left though, right?"  
CG: Karkat shrugged. "I honestly don’t know. Apparently I should get to about here." he said holding his arms out in a circle about five or so inches away from his stomach at the moment. "And then I will be close."  
TA: "Not gonna lie to you Karkat...that looks pretty painful" Rufioh rested his chin on his hand "I'd help pay for the grub's stuff if I could but....my boss didn’t like paying me well."  
CG: Karkat smiled "I understand. But I don’t think the grub will need much until it pupates."  
TA: Rufioh nodded "I know, but it would be nice to give them a few things"  
CG: Karkat nodded. "Yeah your right there."  
TA: "I could always try and get a job again"  
CG: "I don’t know if that is the best idea. I mean if you want to do it then go ahead but I just worry about if we need to pick up and leave fast and you arent around."  
TA: "That's true" he thought about it "maybe when things are a little more stable"  
CG: Karkat nodded. "Yeah." He said and smiled. "We should probably go and wake the other two so that we can get going soon."  
TA: "Sure thing...." he stood up and walked round, holding a hand out to Karkat.  
CG: Karkat smiled and took his head and then stood up.  
TA: Rufioh walked back to the inn with him happily swinging their arms.  
CG: Karkat smiled as his arm was swung by Rufioh. "I feel like a wriggler doing this." he said happily as they went.  
TA: Rufioh chuckled and continued "Is that good...or bad?"  
CG: Karkat thought for a moment. "Good. It was much better times back then."  
TA: "Well, we can work on making things better here" He smiled  
CG: Karkat nodded. "I am really starting to think that we can."  
TA: "Yeah....once we get to where Gamzee is taking us, we can relax and find somewhere nice and we won’t have to worry" Rufioh grinned, positively thinking as always.  
CG: Karkat smiled. It was always so easy to believe Rufioh with how confidant he always sounded when talking about things. And it was what helped Karkat feel a good bit safer.  
TA: Rufioh smiled back and led Karkat back into the inn.  
CG: Karkat went in and headed towards the stairs. "Do you know what room they are in?"  
TA: "I think its the very end one....the sound proof room" Rufioh said with a small groan.  
CG: Karkat chuckled at that. "I am sure everyone in town is thankful for that one." he said and then headed towards the room Rufioh had said.  
TA: Rufioh laughed and nodded, following closely. Sollux had dozed off again by that point and was safely asleep in Gamzee's arms.  
CG: Gamzee however was awake. Holding his mate close and nuzzling into him every so often happily.  
TA: Sollux purred in his sleep but groaned awake when Rufioh started banging on the door.  
CG: Gamzee growled and looked over at it. "Lets ignore them. It can’t be important." he said mainly being stubborn like he usually was.  
TA: Sollux nodded and snuggled up to him. "Are you two done yet?!" Rufioh yelled.  
CG: Gamzee smiled and kissed him. Karkat rolled his eyes and then called in. "Sollux get out here we need to get going. You two can keep your bulges in check until we stop again.”  
TA: Sollux growled quietly then shouted back "Just five more minutes!"  
CG: "Sollux I don’t care if that asshole is bulge deep in you right now we have to leave!" he called back just barely able to hear Sollux through the door.  
TA: Sollux whined and nuzzled into Gamzee's chest "I don’t wanna go" he said quietly.  
CG: "They can’t get in here remember so they can’t force us out." Gamzee said kissing the top of his head.  
TA: Sollux smiled and leaned his head up, kissing Gamzee softly.  
CG: Gamzee kissed back and shifted a little causing his bulge to move inside of Sollux a little since that was how it had stayed all night.  
TA: Sollux grinned into the kiss and rolled his hips towards Gamzee.  
CG: Gamzee let out a soft moan and curled his bulge a little. Karkat rolled his eyes. "Any ideas of how to get them out?"  
TA: Sollux clenched his nook around his bulge and shuddered, continuing to kiss him. Rufioh slammed his fist on the door again "We don’t have time for this, you two can pail later!!" he shouted then sighed. "......Are there any windows?"  
CG: Gamzee chuckled and gave a rough thrust up into Sollux teasingly. Karkat shrugged. "I don’t know its not like I have really looked this place over.  
CG: "  
TA: Sollux let out a sharp moan and then held onto Gamzee's shoulders, rolling over so that he was looking down on his mate. Rufioh pondered "Okay....will we go outside and check?"  
CG: Karkat nodded. "Yeah that sounds good." Gamzee smiled up at his mate and pulled him down for a soft kiss.  
TA: Rufioh picked up Karkat and started to walk back down the stairs. Sollux kissed back lovingly and started rocking his hips.  
CG: Gamzee moaned happily and curled his bulge so that it would hit Sollux's sweet spots. Karkat held onto Rufioh as he was carried down the stairs. "They are always causing some kind of problem."  
TA: Sollux moaned out as Gamzee hit his most sensitive areas, he moved faster and kissed down Gamzee's neck. Rufioh nodded "it was a bad idea to let them stay overnight with eachother....I shouldve known"  
CG: Gamzee tilted his head back and let Sollux have full access to his neck. Karkat shrugged a little. "You don’t know them that well so you couldnt have been expected to now that something like this would happen."  
TA: Sollux started biting at his neck, growling a little. Rufioh got out side the inn and looked up at the exterior, trying to figure out which one was Gamzee and Sollux's room. "I just didn’t think they'd keep going" He said with a small smile.  
CG: Gamzee gave a small growl back as he held Sollux's hips tightly and helped him move. Kakrat nodded. "Yeah I know that you can never really tell with them."  
TA: Sollux moved quicker so that he was almost bouncing on Gamzee's bulge, moaning with every movement. Rufioh looked up, "I think its the sencond one on the right."  
CG: Karkat looked at the window that Rufioh was talking about. "Well its worth a shot." He said simply. Gamzee moaned and then rolled them over so that he could thrust roughly into Sollux.  
TA: Rufioh held onto him and started to fly up to the window. Sollux clung to him and spread his legs open.  
CG: Karkat held onto Rufioh tightly as they went up and hoped that they had the right window. Gamzee thrusted faster but kept the same amount of roughness with each one.  
TA: Sollux moaned loudly and dug his claws into Gamzee, his own bulge curling around the base of Gamzee's. Rufioh saw that the curtains were drawn and he knocked on the glass.  
CG: Gamzee easily ignored the knocking sound and just kept going. Karkat waited to see if anyone would answer.  
TA: Sollux couldnt hear the knock over the sound of his own moaning. Rufioh rolled his eyes and slammed a fist against the glass.  
CG: Gamzee growled hearing the pounding but didn’t stop his movements at all. "Now I think they are doing this on purpose." Karkat said .  
TA: Sollux tightened his bulge around Gamzee's base and started sweating a little. "I can break this glass....but you might be faced with the sight of your moirail being nailed by a half-wit"  
TA: Rufioh said.  
CG: Karkat thought about it. "Well we can’t have them in there all day...." He said and then buried his head in Rufioh's neck and closed his eyes. "Go on in." he said. Gamzee moaned and thrusted harder.  
TA: Rufioh held him close and used his other hand to batter in the glass until it broke. A sliver of sharp glass cut his cheek as he flew in the window. Sollux made a panicked noise and held onto Gamzee "Wh-What the fuck?!"  
CG: Gamzee sat up a bit and growled loudly at them. Karkat kept his face in Rufioh's neck so he coudlnt see anything. "I told you that we needed to go." he said from there.  
TA: Rufioh wiped the blood from his face "Come on!" he said sternly. Sollux hissed "FUCK. OFF."  
CG: Karkat let out a small growl. "Gamzee get off of Sollux. We have to leave NOW!"  
TA: "Gamzee, don’t" Sollux stroked his hair and then turned his head to look at Karkat and Rufioh. "NO. How about you two perverts piss off for a second until we are done?" he shouted.  
CG: "Sollux we need to go. You can’t spend all day in this room with Gamzee pailing you. Alright you can wait until tonight to do whatever the fuck you want again."  
TA: "Are you fucking kidding me? Karkat we are half way through, just go away for a bit"  
CG: "Sollux you arent going to die if you wait until later."  
TA: Sollux growled "No, but you might if you keep at this"  
CG: Karkat rolled his eyes "you won’t cull me Sollux."  
TA: Sollux gave a small moan "Just go away....I'd do the same for you"  
CG: Karkat sighed. "Fine but you two have fine minutes to get down to the cart or I will be back and drag you both out." he said.  
TA: Sollux nodded and leaned up, kissing Gamzee deeply again. Rufioh groaned and hopped out the window "You made me sacrifice my eyes for nothing....I will never be able to unsee that" he shivered.  
CG: Karkat move and kissed his cheek. "I promise that I will make it up to you later." he said and nuzzled into him. Gamzee kissed back and started to thrust again and quickly working back up the pace that he had been going before.  
TA: Rufioh smirked and nuzzled back, flying down and bringing him into the cart. Sollux arched his back and smiled.  
CG: Karkat smiled and when they got into the cart he moved so he was on the pile of blankets. Gamzee moaned and once again started to find Sollux's sweetspots.  
TA: Rufioh sat beside Karkat and petted his hair. Sollux squirmed and moaned out loudly, reaching down to tug at his own bulge.  
CG: Gamzee nipped at Sollux's neck a little and continued to thrust fast and hard into the sweetspots that he was able to find. Karkat purred as his hair was petted and he nuzzled into Rufioh.  
TA: Sollux gripped onto him as he felt himself nearing release. Rufioh smiled and nuzzled back, moving to stroke his cheek gently.  
CG: Gamzee was close as well and started to thrust as fast as he could. Karkat smiled and shifted so he was able to kiss Rufioh lovingly.  
TA: Sollux moaned and bit down hard on Gamzee's shoulder, his body shook as he started to leak yellow. Rufioh kissed back happily and played with his hair as he did.  
CG: Gamzee moaned at the bite and soon buried himself fully into Sollux and then came. Karkat smiled and shifted so he was a bit more of Rufioh's lap while he continued to kiss him.  
TA: Sollux's bite was deep enough to break the skin, he clung to him and moaned loudly against his skin. Rufioh brought Karakt fully onto his lap and smiled into the kiss.  
CG: Gamzee let out a happy breath as he finished and then held Sollux close to himself and kissed his cheek softly. Karkat smiled and wrapped his arms around Rufioh's neck and tangled his fingers into the other's hair a little.  
TA: Sollux wiped away some of the blood from Gamzee's shoulder and then whimpered softly "I'm so fucking full" he rested his hand on his abdomen. Rufioh held Karkat close by his waist and purred.  
CG: Gamzee smiled and pulled back so he could look down at Sollux and chuckled. "You look good like that." he said since he was able to see a small bit of his indigo through Sollux's skin. Karkat smiled and purred back at Rufioh.  
TA: Sollux smiled up at him and smirked, running his fingers over the slight bump that had formed after two rounds of genetic material had been pumped into him, purring gently. Rufioh pulled away from the kiss, only to start kissing softly down Karkat's chin and then neck.  
CG: Gamzee smiled and ran his fingers over the small bump. "We are going to have to clean you up before we go out to the cart." he said before moving and kissing Sollux. "Though I really don’t want to." Karkat smiled and tilted his head up as Rufioh started to kiss down his neck.  
TA: Sollux kissed back and combed through Gamzee's knotted hair "Or, we could just leave it there....?" Rufioh kissed him gently and tugged Karkat's shirt down a little to kiss down his collar bone.  
CG: Gamzee raised an eyebrow a little. "Would you be ok if we did that?" Gamzee asked a little worried but actually liking the idea. Karkat gave a small giggle when Rufioh reached his collarbone and moved to gently kiss his forehead since that was what he could reach.  
TA: Sollux smiled a little "Yeah....though I might dribble a little" he chuckled. Rufioh smiled and got below his collarbone, he kissed Karkat's brand with soft lips, humming quietly.  
CG: Gamzee chuckled. "Well lets hope that you don’t drip so much that you ruin your pants. " he said and kissed Sollux. Karkat smiled and his shoulder twitched a little as the brand was touched. It didn’t hurt but it was still a bit sensitive.  
TA: "If I do you'll just have to clean me up" he smirked. Rufioh kissed the skin tentatively before making his way back up to Karkat's lips.  
CG: Gamzee smiled. "And then fill you back up." he said teasingly. Karkat smiled and when Rufioh made it back up to his lips Karkat kissed back instantly.  
TA: Sollux chuckled "And then do it all again" he replied and leaned up and kissed him again. Rufioh kissed him sweetly and gently sucked on his bottom lip.  
CG: Gamzee nodded. "Agreed." he said and then kissed back. Karkat smiled into the kiss and purred loudly.  
TA: Sollux gave a slight moan as he kissed him, then pulled away with a chuckled "I think its been longer than five minutes..." Rufioh purred back and held Karkat flush against himself.  
CG: "I think so too but considering that Karbro isn’t back here yet I am going to say that he and Rufioh are a bit preoccupied at the moment." he said. Karkat gently scraped his fingers down Rufioh's neck making sure that it was light enough that there wouldn’t be any marks left from it.  
TA: Sollux looked up at him "Does that mean there's enough time for you to clean up my mess?" he asked playfully and held up the hand he used to stroke his bulge, his fingers dripping in yellow. Rufioh smirked and shivered a little from Karkat's scratching, he walked his fingers up Karkat's shirt slowly.  
CG: Gamzee smiled. "Anything for you Solbro." he said and gently took the other's hand and slowly licked the yellow material slowly his eyes never leaving Sollux's. Karkat shivered a little at the feel of Rufioh's fingers.  
TA: Sollux watched intently, he bit his lip and smiled at the sight and feel of it. Rufioh slid his hand under Karkat's shirt and rested it on his lower back, he pulled away from the kiss and looked to him with kind eyes "Is this alright?"  
CG: Gamzee smiled a bit before taking a couple fingers into his mouth and started to suck on them. Karkat looked back at Rufioh and gave a small nod. "Im alright with this." he said since it was the truth. He was fine with it.  
TA: Sollux chuckled and let him, continuing to watch happily. Rufioh smiled and started kissing him again, using the hand under his shirt to caress his skin, being careful when he felt any cuts or scars.  
CG: Gamzee soon finished licking all the material off of Sollux's fingers and then pulled his mouth away. Karkat shivered when Rufioh's hand first started to move before his body relaxed and he leaned into the touch kissing him lovingly.  
TA: Sollux then ran his damp hand through Gamzee's hair and smiled up at him "Thanks" Rufioh moved his other hand to Karkat's hair, running his fingers through it slowly and bumping against his horns sometimes.  
CG: Gamzee nodded. "Anytime." he said and kissed him softly. Karkat purred softly as he felt the hand in his hair and whenever his horn was touched he shivered slightly and sometimes made a soft sound.  
TA: Sollux kissed back, breathing softly from his nose. Rufioh noticed the sounds Karkat was making and moved his hand, slowly drawing circles with his fingertips on the top of one of Karkat's horns.  
CG: Gamzee smiled and shifted so that Sollux was in his lap. Karkat shivered at the other's touch of his horns and made a small moan as he leaned into the touch again.  
TA: Sollux sighed happily and hugged Gamzee, pressing close to his chest. Rufioh smiled and used his fingers to rub a little more at them, leaning in to kiss him again.  
CG: Gamzee hugged him back before slowly starting to pull his bulge out of Sollux. Karkat gave another soft moan and then kissed back his breath a little shakier than before.  
TA: Sollux moaned softly, lifting his ass up to make it easier. Rufioh moved his hands back down to the hem of Karkat's shirt and brought it up a little, sliding both warm hands on his sides.  
CG: His bulge slid out smoothly and then retreated into its sheathe and Gamzee purred at Sollux happily. Karkat smiled when he felt both hands on his sides. He pulled Rufioh a bit closer and nuzzled into him happily before kissing his neck.  
TA: Sollux made a small noise when Gamzee's bulge slipped out, his own bulge hung out for a moment before sliding back in, as there wasn’t much need for it anymore. "Flushed for you" Sollux purred back. Rufioh smiled at Karkat's kissing and moved his hands up, resting them over his boney ribcage and bringing his shirt up at the same time.  
CG: "Flushed for you too." he said softly as he kissed him one last time. Karkat smiled and continued to kiss down Rufioh's neck and shifted a little when he felt his shirt sliding up as the other's hands went higher on his body.  
TA: Sollux kissed back and then slowly got off his lap and crawled off of the bed, squeaking a little as he felt Gamzee's liquid shift inside him as he stood up. Rufioh purred and lifted Karkat's shirt up more, he pulled away from him slightly and took it off the younger troll.  
CG: Gamzee watched Sollux and chuckled a bit enjoying watching him. Karkat blushed a little as his shirt was pulled from him. He was a bit nervous about it but at the same time he was really enjoying it all.  
TA: Sollux held his stomach and blushed a little, smiling at the feeling. Rufioh was being extremely careful with his movements, being cautious with the boy he'd been wanting to touch and make happy for all these sweeps. He smiled and leaned in, kissing him steadily. "You're beautiful..." he murmured.  
CG: Gamzee moved and wrapped his arms around Sollux and nuzzled into his neck. He didn’t want to leave the room anytime soon. Karkat's face turned even brighter red at Rufioh's words and he then buried his face into Rufioh's neck and held him tightly.  
TA: Sollux hummed and stroked his hair, he felt safe and loved here with Gamzee and he didn’t want to lose this moment. Rufioh held him back and kissed his shoulder, rocking him gently.  
CG: Gamzee purred softly into Sollux's ear and kissed his neck. Karkat nuzzled into Rufioh and murmured a small "Flushed for you." he said before moving to kiss him.  
TA: Sollux leaned his head up to give him more access. Rufioh kissed back "Flushed for you too" he said between kisses. He moved his hand up and down Karkat's chest, mapping every inch of skin on his torso with his fingers.  
CG: Gamzee kissed along his neck and gave little nips that wouldn’t leave a mark. Karkat smiled into the kisses and shivered as he felt Rufioh's fingers moving over his chest.  
TA: Sollux purred to him and closed his eyes "Gamzee....?" Rufioh looked to Karkat and then gently rolled his hips up to Karkat.  
CG: Gamzee purred back. "Hmm?" he hummed as he kissed where he had just nipped. Karkat gasped as he felt the other roll his hips against him.  
TA: "I'm all yours Gamzee, I always will be." he said softly. Rufioh kissed his cheek "You okay?"  
CG: Gamzee smiled "And I will always be yours Solbro." he said and kissed his cheek. Karkat nodded. "Yeah, you just surprised me a bit." he said and kissed him.  
TA: Sollux smiled happily up at him. Rufioh kissed back and rolled his hips up again, giving a soft noise.  
CG: Gamzee kissed the top of his head. "Do we have to go now or can we stay here a bit longer?" Gamzee asked Sollux a bit pleadingly. Karkat gave a small moan and rolled his hips back.  
TA: "They don’t seem to be coming to 'drag us out' yet, so I guess we can stay" he smiled. Rufioh purred and kissed him, slowly bringing his hands down to the waistband of Karkat's pants.  
CG: Gamzee smiled and then pulled Sollux back onto the bed and cuddled up to him happily. Karkat kissed back barely even noticing the hand on the wastband of his pants.  
TA: Sollux snuggled up to him and closed his eyes. Rufioh tucked his thumb under his waistband and kept kissing him.  
CG: Gamzee smiled. "I say we stay until they make us leave." gamzee murmured into Sollux's hair as he nuzzled him. Karkat kissed him a bit deeper holding onto Rufioh and playing with his hair.  
TA: "Agreed" Sollux said and then nuzzled into Gamzee's chest. Rufioh moved his hand round to cup Karkat's ass, lifting him up a bit.  
CG: Gamzee smiled and closed his eyes as he relaxed with Sollux in his arms. Karkat smiled a little as he was lifted up by the other.  
TA: Sollux closed his eyes too and slowly started to doze off. Rufioh smiled at him and started shuffling down Karkat's pants, kissing his neck softly.  
CG: Karkat tilted his head a little so that Rufioh had better access to his neck and shifted a bit so that his pants would slide down easier.  
TA: Rufioh kissed and licked at his neck, then brought his pants down before dragging his fingers slowly down Karkat's naked leg.  
CG: Karkat's heart raced once his pants were off and he felt the fingers dragging over the skin of his leg. He let out a soft purr to Rufioh to let him know that he was still alright.  
TA: Rufioh moved his hand back up and started to use his hands on the opening of Karkat's bulge sheath, running his fingertips over the slit.  
CG: Karkat bit his lower lip softly as he felt his bulge start to slowly poke out of the sheathe to see what was going on since Karkat had never had never had this gentle of treatment before.  
TA: Rufioh kissed his neck gently and rubbed the palm of his hand against his slit and the tip of his bulge, still being careful.  
CG: The bulge continued to slowly come out bit by bit causing Karkat to moan a bit louder and he moved his hips agaisn’t the hand.  
TA: Rufioh held his bulge and stroked it slowly "Does this feel alright?" Rufioh asked quietly in a calm voice.  
CG: Karkat nodded at the question. "Y-Yeah." he said leaning against Rufioh as he spoke.  
TA: Rufioh got him settled on his lap and kept stroking him, focussing on the tip which he knew would be sensitive.  
CG: Karkat moaned a bit louder and his hips bucked into the other's hand and he gave the other's neck a small bite.  
TA: Rufioh smirked at the bite and stroked him a little faster, loving the noises he was making for him.  
CG: Karkat let out a happy whine as his hips bucked again and he moved to remove Rufioh's shirt.  
TA: Rufioh smiled and let him tug at it, rubbing his thumb over his tip then stroking his whole length.  
CG: Karkat moaned louder before cursing as he coudlnt seem to get his brain to work enough to remove the other's shirt.  
TA: Rufioh chuckled and took his own shirt off, revealing the muscles he had worked up from working for Mindfang.  
CG: Karkat blinked a bit as he saw how ripped the other was. He then brought a hand forward and started to carefully run his hands over each muscle. "These are definitely new."  
TA: Rufioh smiled and flexed a little "One of the only good things that came from work"  
CG: Karkat smiled and nodded. "I can believe that." he said letting his hand trace the muscles lower and lower slowly.  
TA: Rufioh tilted his head and moved to hold Karkat's bulge again, rubbing with his fingers slowly.  
CG: Karkat moaned softly and moved so he could kiss Rufioh as he carefully slipped his hand into Rufioh's pants.  
TA: Rufioh kissed back happily and smirked as he felt Karkat's hands.  
CG: Karkat felt the smirk. "Wipe that smirk off your face." he said teasingly like he would when he was younger.  
TA: "Sorry kiddo...." he said, just as teasingly "I can't help it" he lifted his hips up.  
CG: Karkat smiled and kissed him again slipping his hand down more to try and draw Rufioh's bulge out.  
TA: Rufioh's bulge started to come out, the tip curling up in Karkat's hand.  
CG: Karkat smiled when he felt the bulge starting to curl around his hand. He started to gently stroke the bulge.  
TA: Rufioh shuffled down his pants and let his bulge fully slither out, about the size of one of his horns, he couldnt help but smile a little.  
CG: Karkat looked shocked at what he saw. Sure it wanst as big as Grand Highbloods but it was much bigger than he had been expecting.  
TA: Rufioh laughed a little at Karkat's expression "You sure you're ok?"  
CG: "I am fine but fucking hell Rufioh how the fuck did you grow so much?" he asked shaking his head a bit.  
TA: Rufioh shrugged "I've had time to grow....I guess its just good genes too" he let his bulge coil around Karkat's wrist.  
CG: Karkat smiled a bit and shook his head. "And what does that say about my genes?" he asked playfully as he kissed him once again.  
TA: Rufioh kissed back, rubbing at Karkat's bulge "All I'm sayin is....maybe the Sufferer was trying to compensate for something" he teased.  
CG: Karkat broke the kiss and laughed out loud at that. "You are terrible you know that?" he said and then kissed him and gave his bulge a squeeze.  
TA: Rufioh laughed too but stopped when his bulge was squeezed, letting out a soft moan "Karkat...nnn....that felt good..."  
CG: Karkat smiled and did it again and gave a small pull at the same time. "Im glad that I can do something right." he said and kissed at Rufioh's neck.  
TA: Rufioh moaned again and his bulge rubbed against Karkat's arm. He stroked Karkat, faster that before with a slightly firmer grip.  
CG: Karkat moaned louder and continued to work Rufioh's bulge.  
TA: Rufioh moved his hand around and used his fingers to rub the underside of Karkat's bulge, all while moaning from the other's touch.  
CG: Karkat smiled and continued to moan and thrust into Rufioh's hand with each move of the other's hand and continued to stroke Rufioh's bulge and giving small squeezes every now and then.  
TA: Rufioh moaned loudly and got faster with his strokes on Karkat's bulge, his own moving in appreciation against the smaller troll.  
CG: Karkat moaned and kissed Rufioh as he felt himself getting close. He then nuzzled into him and moved his hand faster and squeezing a bit harder but making sure that it would still feel good.  
TA: Rufioh rolled his hips up into Karkat's hands and grunted softly, he kissed back quickly and held him close, using his free hand to stroke and slightly twist Karkats bulge.  
CG: Karkat thrusted his hip to Rufioh's hand one more time before letting out a small cry and releasing all over both of them.  
TA: Rufioh smiled held him flush against himself, stroking until he was sure the red was all out. "You're such a pretty colour..." Rufioh whispered to him and kissed his neck tentatively.  
CG: Karkat smiled and purred softly as he nuzzled into the other before moving his hand once again. "Flushed for you." he murmured softly.  
TA: Rufioh moaned out "Flushed f-for you too...." then grunted again, climaxing heavily over both himself and Karkat.  
CG: Karkat smiled when he felt the other climax and continued with his hand movements until the other was done. He then shifted and looked down at their mixed material. He then smiled and gave a small chuckle.  
TA: "We've uh... Made quite a mess" Rufioh smirked and slowly dipped his fingers in it.  
CG: Karkat nodded. "I was just thinking that I like the color that the two of ours make." he said as he looked at the mixing material again.  
TA: Rufioh nodded "Yeah...." he brought his fingers to his own lips slowly and gave Karkat a teasing look, licking them clean. "I like the taste too" he grinned.  
CG: Karkat instantly turned bright red at what the other was doing. "You are so weird sometimes Rufioh." he said and then kissed him.  
TA: Rufioh chuckled and kissed back eagerly before pulling away a little "But seriously... How are we gonna clean all this up before those two beasts get back?"  
CG: Karkat thought for a moment. "We can use some of the blankets and put them at the bottom of the pile." he suggested since they didn’t really touch the ones at the bottom.  
TA: "Yeah...or can’t we just throw them out once we are done? I mean....you two dogs sleep on these..."  
CG: "I mean we could but we can always wash them once we stop near a river again." he said "You can choose what we do." he said and kissed him once again.  
TA: "Suppose we could just hide them, it would be a shame to get rid of them for good" He kissed back and hummed a little.  
CG: Karkat gave a small nod into the kiss. He then leaned against Rufioh and smiled. "We should hurry and clean this up and then got get Gamzee and Sollux."  
TA: Rufioh nodded and reached over for a blanket with one hand and lifted Karkat out of the mess with the other.  
CG: Karkat shifted to help move himself so that he wouldn’t just spread the mess around more.  
TA: Rufioh used the blanket to wipe Karkat down first, whistling a little.  
CG: Karkat let Rufioh wipe him down and once he was clean Karkat moved to get dressed again.  
TA: Rufioh then tossed the blanket aside and used another to mop up the small pool that had formed between them and a third blanket to clean himself. He sighed softly when he was done.  
CG: Karkat smiled and once everything was cleaned up Karkat moved forward and wrapped his arms around Rufioh before he would have a chance to get dressed again.


	14. JACKPOT

TA: Rufioh smiled and hugged him back, then leaned down and kissed his hair. "You good?"  
CG: Karkat nodded. "Never better." he said softly as he nuzzled into him.  
TA: Rufioh nuzzled back and held him close, swaying a little.  
CG: Karkat closed his eyes and let his body sway with the other's and he started to purr happily.  
TA: Rufioh stroked his hair "Come on.... I can’t go storming in to retrieve those two if I'm butt naked." he chuckled.  
CG: Karkat laughed. "No but it would be funny to see you do that." he said teasingly.  
TA: Rufioh shook his head with a smile "I would die with embarrassment"  
CG: "No you would die from everyone wanting to keep staring at your wonderful body." he said and pulled him into a kiss.  
TA: He kissed back instantly and then petted his hair again "Nope....as far as I'm concerned.... you’re the only one from now on who gets to see me like this"  
CG: Karkat smiled and kissed him once again. "Good because I wold have to cull anyone else who tried." he said playfully before giving him once last kiss and moving so that Rufioh could get dressed.  
TA: Rufioh chuckled and then pulled his clothes on, ruffling his own hair to sort it and then stretching.  
CG: Karkat moved the used blankets under all the other ones and then moved to the edge of the cart. "Alright let’s go get the other two."  
TA: Rufioh picked him up and flew out of the cart "I shotgun NOT having to fish Gamzee's bulge from Sollux as he throws a fit...."  
CG: Karkat laughed at that and then nodded. "Alright then I guess I will be the one who has to get my hands dirty." he said teasingly "Though I am sure that Sollux will be good and not do something like that."  
TA: "He wasn’t good the last time “Rufioh pointed out as he approached the window again.  
CG: "Yeah but I let him have his last round for now so if he doesn’t then he is in trouble." he said and looked inside the window though he couldn’t see anything from where they were thanks to the curtain. He then reached over and knocked on the window where it wasn’t broken or cracked at all.  
TA: Rufioh held him tightly so he wouldn’t fall. Sollux shifted a little when he heard the knock but then just closed his eyes again and curled up to Gamzee.  
CG: Karkat rolled his eyes. "Sollux come on I gave you your time so let’s go." he said as he knocked again.  
TA: Sollux groaned and kissed Gamzee's chest, then shuffled out the bed and looked around for his clothes.  
CG: Karkat smiled when he heard Sollux moving. Gamzee groaned when Sollux moved away. "Solbro what are you doing."  
TA: Sollux rubbed his eyes and lazily got dressed "Karkat says we need to go now"  
CG: Gamzee groaned and rolled over. "Tell him to go away." he grumbled.  
TA: "I wish I could" he said under his breath and walked over to look at Gamzee "Come on..." he said softly and kissed him.  
CG: Gamzee kissed back and then sat up with a sigh. "Fine." he said and pulled his pants on and just ignored the shirt not really caring if he didn’t have it on.  
TA: Sollux sat on the edge of the bed and watched him before turning to the window "We're coming" he called.  
CG: Karkat smiled "See I told you that he would behave." he said and kissed Rufioh. When Gamzee had his pants on he stood up and headed towards the door.  
TA: Rufioh smiled "Good to see he's as obedient as Gamzee makes him out to be" He chuckled. Sollux got up and grabbed Gamzee's arm "Wait!"  
CG: Karkat rolled his eyes. "You are terrible sometimes you know that?" he said with a small laugh. Gamzee stopped and looked back at Sollux. "What is it?"  
TA: "I do know that" Rufioh smiled and kissed him. Sollux looked up at him and then down a little to his chest. "The bite mark, and the scratches and the marks I gave you? Gamzee, without your shirt everyone’s gonna see"  
CG: Karkat kissed back with a smile. Gamzee looked down at it. "So? It’s not like you were all up and trying to tear me up or nothin."  
TA: "I know, but everyone is gonna know that we do that sort of thing, doesn’t that bother you? I mean, it’s a bit personal"  
CG: Gamzee smiled and kissed him. "I personally don’t care." he said being honest with Sollux about it. "But if you really don’t like it then I will put the shirt on."  
TA: "Okay it’s not that I don’t like looking at your body, it’s the exact opposite actually. But at the same time, I'm not gonna make you wear it if you don’t want to, it’s just that, yknow, other trolls might stare at you"  
CG: Gamzee smiled. "I don’t care if they stare because my eyes will only be on you." he said and kissed him before he grabbed his shirt.  
TA: Sollux smiled a little "Thanks, I guess I'm just being a bit protective" he shrugged and looked away a bit.  
CG: Gamzee chuckled and kissed him once the shirt was on. "Well let’s go." he said and opened the door.  
TA: Sollux walked out and started down the stairs. Rufioh waited until he couldn’t hear anything from the room before flying down slowly.  
CG: Gamzee smiled and walked down the stairs right behind Sollux. Karkat smiled when they started to go back down to the ground.  
TA: Sollux walked to the reception and looked around for someone. Rufioh set Karkat onto the ground gently.  
CG: Gamzee stood right behind Sollux and wrapped his arms around him happily. "You will probably have to ring the bell." he said. Karkat smiled when his feet were on the ground.  
TA: Sollux leaned back against him and then rang the bell. Vanion peeked out the door and smiled when he saw them and came to the desk "You two leaving so soon?"  
CG: "Yeah Karbro is all up and makin us go now instead of letting us wait a bit longer." Gamzee said and shrugged.  
TA: "He's the lil guy, right?" he leaned on the desk "Well, if you've got somewhere to be then it can’t be helped" he shrugged "Do you have the keys?"  
CG: Gamzee nodded "Yeah he is and here they are." he said and handed over the keys along with a few more coins. "Afraid Rufioh broke your window so that is to fix that."  
TA: Vanion laughed and took what Gamzee gave him "He broke your window? Dare I ask why?"  
CG: "They all up and got mad that we weren’t all up and comin out of the room." he said with a chuckle. "Of course, we didn’t help that much." He said with a devious grin.  
TA: Sollux smiled and then blushed a little. Vanion just laughed "I can't expect you did" he said mischievously "Anyway, did you enjoy your stay otherwise?" he asked, something he was supposed to do with each visitor.  
CG: Gamzee nodded and one of his hands went down onto Sollux's still swollen stomach without thinking about it. "Yeah we had a great stay."  
TA: Sollux squeaked a little as he was touched, the skin sensitive. Vanion smiled "That’s good to hear, well, feel free to come back whenever you're passing" he said happily.  
CG: Gamzee nodded. "If we do come back this way you can be sure that we will stay here."  
TA: Vanion grinned "Thanks!" Sollux smiled at him and then held Gamzee's hand.  
CG: Gamzee held his hand and then headed out of the inn and to the cart.  
TA: Sollux walked over to Karkat and Rufioh and gave a small smile to Karkat.  
CG: Karkat smiled back and then climbed up into the cart and then held his hand out to Sollux to help him up as well.  
TA: Sollux held his hand and got up to the cart then groaned a little and held his stomach as the material jolted.  
CG: Karkat frowned when he heard the groan. "You didn’t clean yourself, did you?"  
TA: Sollux laughed it off "N-no it’s not that. I think it’s just stomach ache"  
CG: Karkat frowned a bit. "From what? They don’t serve food there and I know for a fact that you didn’t go out to eat."  
TA: Sollux shrugged "I dunno, I think I'm just hungry. Do we have any food left?" he changed the subject.  
CG: Karkat nodded and pointed to the boxes. "Yeah in there." he said and then moved to sit down.  
TA: He walked in further to the cart towards the boxes but then stops "Oh fucking hell..." he holds his nose  
CG: Karkat frowned and looked over at him. "What is it?" he asked since he couldn’t smell anything from where he was.  
TA: "You don’t smell that? Karkat, it STINKS of sweat in here."  
CG: Karkat turned a little red at the thought of why that would be. "I don’t smell anything right now."  
TA: "Have you been sitting here for long? Maybe it’s cos I've not been in here but seriously Karkat, it’s disgusting" Sollux shivered and moved to kneel beside the boxes. "We should clean it out"  
CG: "Just pull up the blanket there and it will air out in here." he said and leaned back against the wall.  
TA: Sollux picked up a bread roll from the box and chewed on it "Which blanket?" Sollux moves to pick one up from the floor.  
CG: "The one of the wall there." he said quickly hoping that Sollux didn’t touch one of the ones that would still be wet.  
TA: Sollux jammed the roll between his teeth so that he could use both hands to shake the blanket. He moved to that he was closer to in and ended up standing on one of the wet blankets. He made a muffled groan.  
CG: Karkat heard the groan but had no idea what it was about so he didn’t say anything and just acted like he didn’t notice at all.  
TA: Sollux held the food in his hand and looked down, squishing the blanket with his foot a little and scowling "Karkat, did you bring this one outside? It looks like it’s covered in mud or something" he crouched down to get a better look.  
CG: Karkat looked down. "I don’t know. It might have at some point." he said and hoped that the blanket didn’t show the colors too much.  
TA: Sollux shook his head "This thing is coated...." he held it up to get a better look "Oh fuck, Karkat have you been bleeding? Theres red too...." Sollux murmured.  
CG: Karkat's face got brighter red. "No im not bleeding and I haven’t been in a long time." he said though he almost instantly thought that he should have just said that he did bleed since it would make it so Sollux wouldn’t be able to guess what it actually was.  
TA: "Then what....?" Sollux made a confused face and looked up at Karkat, he saw his moirail's bright red face and quickly looked down to the blanket again. It took a moment for him to pull his thoughts together before he yelped and dropped the blanket. "OH FUCK NO!!" he stood clear of it.  
CG: Karkat covered his face instantly with both of his hands. "It’s not as bad as you think." he said softly. He wasn’t sure what he could say in this situation and he felt bad that Sollux had to touch any of it.  
TA: Sollux winced and shook his hands in the air "Ewww....That's Rufioh's?! You actually pailed with him?" He shouted then growled "Karkat. I have Rufioh's cum under my nails and I want to be sick. You're disgusting"  
CG: "We didn’t pail!" Karkat snapped though that probably wanst that much better. "And sorry I didn’t think that you would pick up the bottom blankets."  
TA: "Then what the fuck did you do, stab him? Cos theres a hell of a lot of brown there!" he shivered.  
CG: Karkat looked away. "Well....um...." he wasn’t sure what to say. Especially something that won’t freak Sollux out more.  
TA: Sollux looked at him, his expression full of anger and confusion.  
CG: Karkat didn’t look at Sollux but he could feel the other's expression. "Don’t look at me like that Sollux."  
TA: "Well sorry! But what do you expect me to do? No wonder this place stinks you two have been fucking eachother and then /keeping/ the..." he shivered again "I'm gonna be sick"  
CG: "THAT ISN’T TRUE SOLLUX! We havent pailed a single time. And we didn’t want to throw the blankets out because we could wash them."  
TA: "Still. Karkat you could have just chucked them out I probably wouldn’t have noticed. It’s not like I’ve resorted to counting the blankets in here yet! I'm assuming you two just, uh....got off infront of eachother?"  
CG: Karkat looked up at him. "More like helped eachother out." he said softly his face still bright red. "And I thought it would be best to keep as many as we could just in case."  
TA: Sollux raised an eyebrow and then shook his head. "You now can’t tell off Gamzee and I, considering you two are just as bad." he walked over and wiped his hands on Karkat's shirt.  
CG: Karkat playfully swatted at Sollux's hands when he wiped the hands on his shirt. "We are not as bad as you two." He said rolling his eyes. "You two are definitely worse."  
TA: "Nope, you can't judge us anymore because you're just as horribly lovestruck"  
CG: Karkat laughed a bit. "Alright fine. I maybe lovestruck but I am still not as bad as you two." he said as he felt the cart start to move.  
TA: Sollux crossed his arms "Just cos we do it more often doesn’t make it any worse" he jolted a little with the movement of the cart.  
CG: Karkat shrugged a bit "think what you want."  
TA: He rolled his eyes "It’s just a bit of fun, takes my mind off the fact that we could be culled any moment if anything else"  
TA: He murmured.  
CG: Karkat nodded. "Yeah I can understand that much." He said and patted a spot next to him where he knew it was dry and nothing was there that would touch Sollux.  
TA: Sollux flopped down and leaned on him "Did he treat you right?"  
CG: Karkat nodded. "Yeah he did. He was nice about it all and kept making sure that I was alright."  
TA: "And you were alright with it?" Sollux asked, wanting to make sure his moirail was safe at all times.  
CG: Karkat nodded. "Yeah....Though at first I wasn’t fully sure about it."  
TA: Sollux looked to him "Did he....make you do it at the start?"  
CG: Karkat shook his head. "No I let him do it. I was just nervous because of what all has happened."  
TA: "I can understand that, just as long as he didn’t force himself on you in any way, and don’t be afraid to say so." he linked arms with him "I know he's bigger than me but I would still fight for you"  
CG: Karkat smiled. "Yeah I know that you would." he said and leaned against him a bit more. "And you will be the first to know when anything like that happens."  
TA: "I'll beat him to a pulp" He posed with his fists out and then chuckled, slouching against Karkat.  
CG: Karkat laughed a bit and then nuzzled against him. "I believe you would."  
TA: Sollux nuzzled back and smiled "I'm sorry for shouting at you in the inn"  
CG: "It’s fine. I understand why you were yelling." he said softly.  
TA: Sollux hummed "I can’t wait to be safe again"  
CG: Karkat nodded. "Yeah. And hopefully we get there sooner than what Gamzee said."  
TA: "Yeah, then we can live normally again, like those days in my hive" he smiled at the memory.  
CG: Karkat smiled as well. "Yeah. I want that again. Just without having to worry if someone was looking for me."  
TA: "You'll be safe again, I promise" Sollux said, even though he knew he couldnt fully promise it.  
CG: Karkat smiled. "And you will be able to have as much time with Gamzee as you need."  
TA: "Same with you and Rufioh" he smirked but then his face fell a little "Are you and the grub going to live with Rufioh after all this then?"  
CG: Karkat thought about that question for a bit. "I guess so. Though I am still worried about the grub. I mean I don’t know how to care for one or anything."  
TA: "We'll figure it out, I'm sure Rufioh will help you" he smiled a little  
CG: "I know that he would help but what if neither of us knows how to do something?" he asked looking over at Sollux.  
TA: He shrugged "I don’t know, we could maybe find someone"  
CG: Karkat nodded. "Well I hope that we could find someone."  
TA: "I'm sure it will be fine, how hard can it be?" he chuckled weakly  
CG: "I well if my grub and wriggler hood is anything to go by pretty fucking hard."  
TA: "It all hinges on what blood colour they have it seems"  
CG: Karkat shrugged. "Maybe so here is to hoping that this one isn’t that bad."  
TA: "Even if they do have a bad colour, we've kept you alive so far"  
CG: "Yeah that is true. I don’t care about what color it is I just want it to not be like I was when I was young."  
TA: "They will be as safe as we can have them" he snuggled up to him  
CG: Karkat smiled and wrapped his arms around Sollux.  
TA: Sollux purred gently and smiled, hugging back  
CG: Karkat nuzzled into him again "I wonder what the next town will be like."  
TA: "Death, chaos, everyhting bad you could possibly think of" he smiled  
CG: "Well then it should be a good vacation for us." he said chuckling.  
TA: "Something different for a change, being safe is getting boring"  
CG: "I agree. Why don’t we go raid a highblood town and take all that we can so we can fight out way out..."  
TA: "Yeah lets go for it, what could go wrong?" he grinned up at him.  
CG: "Absolutely nothing." he said grinning back  
TA: "I'm sure they will welcome us with open arms"  
CG: "Of course they will. Why wouldn’t they want trolls like us."  
TA: "They'd probably not even notice us! Two mutants and a highblood, they wouldn’t even blink"  
CG: "Let’s not forget the lowblood with wings." he said laughing a bit as he spoke.  
TA: "Heh, how could I forget. I'm sure they’d be fine with it"  
CG: "I know that they will be fine with it." he said and then yawned a bit.  
TA: Sollux watched and then started to pet Karkat's hair.  
CG: Karkat purred and leaned his head into the other's hand.  
TA: Sollux smiled "You must be tired, you can sleep if you want, I'll keep those two from culling each other"  
CG: Karkat smiled. "Thanks." he said softly and nuzzled into him happily and closed his eyes, so he could sleep for a bit.  
TA: Sollux kept him close and stayed quiet.


	15. Markets galore

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We wrote this in June of 2016, as I am writing this it is February 2018, which means there is /so/ much more content to come. Its also really weird reading back things that you genuinely do not remember writing all those years ago, and how CRINGE it all is. anyways, I don't love it any less.

TA: Rufioh sat at the front with Gamzee, his head in his hands and nearly falling asleep.  
CG: Gamzee looked over at Rufioh and rolled his eyes before gently tapping on his shoulder to wake him up.  
TA: Rufioh jolted awake and grunted "Hm?"  
CG: "Why don’t ya go on in the back if ya are gonna all up and fall asleep."  
TA: "No, I’m good...I’m good....besides, I gotta keep an eye on you" He smiled.  
CG: "I will be fine but if you fall asleep you are gonna all up and fall off."  
TA: "I wasn’t meanin' it like that, I gotta make sure you don’t take us somewhere dodgy" he said under his breath.  
CG: "I aint gonna all up and do that. I have a mate to keep safe remember?" he said rolling his eyes though he was used to this kind of thing from Rufioh.  
TA: "He's safe when he's with you, Karkat however....you won’t take the same care of him"  
CG: Gamzee shrugged "True but if I get Karbro into trouble then I will be getting Solbro into trouble as well."  
TA: "More like Sollux would be getting you in trouble" he chuckled.  
CG: Gamzee laughed. "That is true." he said as he continued to laugh.  
TA: "So, have fun in the inn?" he raised an eyebrow.  
CG: Gamzee grinned. "Plenty of fun. Any idea about what those two were yellin at eachother about?" he asked raising an eyebrow.  
TA: "Good to hear. Well..." Rufioh scratched the back of his neck "I have a few ideas" he smiled.  
CG: Gamzee laughed. "Any that I would be interested in hearing?"  
TA: Rufioh smirked "While you and Sollux were wasting time...Karkat and I had our own fun"  
CG: Gamzee laughed. "What you didn’t clean up or somethin?" he asked since he didn’t care that the two of them had done anything.  
TA: "We used the blankets but....I've got the feelin a certain someone may have found them...." he said, sounding embarrassed.  
CG: Gamzee tried to hold in his laugh but was failing quite a bit. "I can imagine how that went over between the two of them."  
TA: Rufioh groaned and shook his head "I'll apologise to Sollux"  
CG: "Well I would suggest only doing it if he brings it up because by the lack of them screaming anymore I think that Solbro is over it now."  
TA: Rufioh nodded "Yeah, thanks. I'm glad Karkat's got your little one to keep him sane"  
CG: "So am I. Because I know that I wouldn’t be able to do it." he said since he had never been good at that kind of thing.  
TA: "You've known Karkat for a while right? How come you two arent moirails?" he asked, it had been something that he had been wondering for a while.  
CG: Gamzee looked at Rufioh and shrugged. "Our relationship swings more black real easy. Not quite enough to be kismesis but still ...."  
TA: He raised his eyebrows at that "Really? Hm....I did wonder why you two don’t talk so much"  
CG: Gamzee shrugged. "Its mainly to keep the fight from between the two of us from happenin in front of Solbro."  
TA: Rufioh nodded "Yeah, I can understand why you wouldn’t want that....he'd be torn"  
CG: Gamzee nodded. "Its also why we havent told him about it. Im sure he would drive himself mad looking for signs of somethin like that startin."  
TA: "I know I would" Rufioh shrugged and leaned back.  
CG: Gamzee nodded and continued driving. "Should we drive through the night or stop again?"  
TA: "Go through the night, I think we stopped for too long last time....thanks to you"  
CG: "You two let us stay longer when you said five minutes just so you two can have your own fun time." he said teasingly.  
TA: "Em no. It wasn’t /just/ so we could mess around, that was an after thought....It was your fault for wasting time and not listening to us" he taunted.  
CG: "You are the one who caused us to start all that." he said  
TA: Rufioh looked to him "How exactly did I do that"  
CG: "You two caused us to both do it as a challenge to both of you."  
TA: "A challenge to see how far we would go to stop you? That's a lil fucked up"  
CG: "Solbro was willing to go on with it." he said and chuckled. "Anyway Solbro was the one who all up and led it all."  
TA: "So far....through the little amount of times ive had a proper conversation with you....you flake out and blame everything on your mate" Rufioh pointed out.  
CG: "He is the one that really causes most of it and I just go along with it. Or I will start it and he keeps it goin."  
TA: Rufioh smirked "Yeah....that's kinda how relationships work, although you’re not thinking about yourself when you’re hammering him into the mattress....you're still a part of it, so its still your fault too"  
CG: "He likes it and has never once complained about it." he said with a shrug. "But I will admit that I do sometimes go a bit rough."  
TA: "Rough huh? I bet you do" Rufioh chuckled "Just so long as you don’t beat him about too much I guess....actually....I'm not one to tell you what to do" he held his hands up.  
CG: "I don’t do too much and normally every mark I leave on him he leaves at least one or more on me." he said which was pretty true.  
TA: Rufioh smiled and shrugged "He's yours, you can do what you want with him I guess.......but I could never do anything like that to Karkat"  
CG: "Well there are different things that work for different people. As it is Solbro and I enjoy that little bit though I can see why Karbro woudlnt."  
TA: "Well, you enjoy it. Has Sollux actually told you he does?" Rufioh asked.  
CG: Gamzee thought for a moment. "Not out right but he would say if he didn’t like it."  
TA: "Would he really?" Rufioh turned to him.  
CG: Gamzee nodded. "Have you seen how he tells me off on everything he doesn’t like?"  
TA: "All I'm sayin is that although you're just a kid to me, you could cull a troll like him if you went too 'rough'" Rufioh shrugged.  
CG: "I am careful about that. I make sure that I don’t do anything that would cull him or permanently hurt him." he said being serious about that.  
TA: "Yeah but you never know, you seem like the kind of guy who would get a bit uh....lost in the moment....if you get what I mean"  
CG: Gamzee thought about that. "True but I do watch him close no matter how far gone I get with that."  
TA: Rufioh sighed a little "You don’t really believe me , do you?"  
CG: "I do believe you with that and it is something that I have worried about several times but a lot of the time when I do try to go easier on him he does his best to make me do what I have been doing."  
TA: "Well, maybe you should ask him....I'm sure Karkat would be devastated if anything happened to him"  
CG: Gamzee nodded. "Though I am sure that he would cull me first if something like that did happen."  
TA: "Probably....he cares a lot about him....maybe more than you do" Rufioh looked around at the ground that was passing quickly below them.  
CG: "I care about Sollux a lot and do my best to take care of him and keep him from getting hurt." Gamzee said. "I can’t say that I care about him like Karbro does but that is also because our relationships are different."  
TA: Rufioh rolled his eyes "I know, I know....Hey, do you want me to drive for a bit?" he said, trying to change the subject as he knew it was a lost cause.  
CG: Gamzee thought for a moment and then passed the reigns over to Rufioh. "Yeah that would be nice then I can try to doze off for a minute or two." he said since he needed it. "Just keep following this road and don’t take any turn offs."  
TA: Rufioh took the reigns and drove smoothly, following Gamzee's instructions. "Don't fall out" he said with a smirk.  
CG: "Ha ha ha. I don’t fall out of these things but you sure looked like ya would." he said rolling his eyes and tucking himself into the corner of the seat a bit and closing his eyes his head against the wood behind him.  
TA: Rufioh rolled his eyes "I'm not /that/ clumsy" he said quietly and swerved a little to avoid a bump in the road"  
CG: Gamzee barely moved when Rufioh swerved to miss the bump thanks to how he was tucked. "Sure you aint." he said before closing his eyes once again.  
TA: Rufioh growled a little and made the hoof-beasts go a little faster, he wanted to get there as soon as possible.  
CG: Gamzee spoke without opening his eyes. "Don’t push them too hard or they won’t be able to make it through the day."  
TA: "I know they'll be fine, I'll slow them in a minute"  
CG: Gamzee looked over at him and then shrugged before letting himself slowly slip into a light sleep.  
TA: Rufioh slowed the beasts back to a steady pace and then continued down the road.  
CG: Gamzee stayed still as he slept other than the occasional move to itch something.  
TA: Rufioh sighed a little at the silence, not willing to admit to himself yet that he missed the casual taunting he did with Gamzee.  
CG: Gamzee stayed like that for a couple of hours before his finally sat up properly and stretched. "How far have we gone?" he asked before yawning.  
TA: Rufioh shrugged "I dunno, we are somewhere with a lot of trees....?"  
CG: Gamzee thought for a minute and looked around. "There should be a small town about another twenty minutes from here. We can stop and buy some more food, get some water and whatever else we might need and then continue on."  
TA: "Alright....Gamzee that was a long 'minute or so'" Rufioh chuckled.  
CG: Gamzee frowned a bit. "What do you mean?"  
TA: "You said you would only sleep for a minute or two, you were out for hours" He smiled  
CG: Gamzee chuckled. "Sorry bro I didn’t all up and mean to." he said and then shrugged. "I can all up and drive again if ya want."  
TA: "Nah you’re fine, I kinda like it" Rufioh looked down the road.  
CG: Gamzee nodded and leaned back. "I am also thinkin that we should work on gettin some weapons as well."  
TA: Rufioh grinned "I like the sound of that my boy....I'm pretty good with that sort of thing"  
CG: "Good. And we should see about those two as well." He said since he figured that it would be best for them all to have something if they wanted it or were able to really use it.  
TA: "Yeah, Karkat can fight....that's for sure....his lusus used to teach him and we would spar together"  
CG: "Then we can maybe try to get him back into shape again. You can help him with that because if he spars with me and I get a hit in it will most likely break some bones and we don’t need that."  
TA: "Don't worry, I'll make sure he doesn’t get near you" Rufioh said with a hint of malice.  
CG: Gamzee rolled his eyes a bit. "He is all yours." he said shrugging off the malice that he was able to hear.  
TA: Rufioh chuckled "What about Sollux? Other than those powers of his....whats he like with fighting?"  
CG: "I honestly don’t know. Because until recently it would have been impossible for him to have any weapons while I was around." he said since slaves werent allowed to have weapons.  
TA: Rufioh nodded "You should train him up, Just incase anything happens"  
CG: Gamzee nodded. "I can agree with that. I can also show some things that would be helpful with taking on highbloods."  
TA: "Like what?" Rufioh asked  
CG: "For one, especially for those two they need to learn to get in to an offensive area and out again fast because if they are caught by a highblood it is more than likely all over. Sollux maybe not so much if he decides to use his psiioniics but Karkat doesn’t have that so he especially needs to learn it."  
TA: "ALright, I can see why that would be needed....but what about us" Rufioh looked to him.  
CG: "Well it depends on what you all up and fight with really. I use clubs because I have the strength for it and I am good at real close combat." he said simply. "I don’t know all that much about your fighting style so I can’t say anythin about it yet."  
TA: Rufioh nodded and listened "I used to fight with a lance before I got my job, then it got taken away....so close combat is good for me" He smiled.  
CG: Gamzee nodded. "Then I can show you stuff similar to them except you will stay in for attacking longer." he said simply as he thought about it all. "I can also get you another lance if that is what you want. It would be good to have someone who can do both more distance fighting and close up fighting."  
TA: "That would be good, I kinda miss having one to be honest...." Rufioh looked back to the road "Here's hoping we won’t have to fight but....geting into a rumble wouldn’t be too bad"  
CG: Gamzee nodded. "Fights on this planet are always going to happen. It is impossible to go your entire life without them." he said with a shrug. "But so long as you come out in better shape it is fine."  
TA: "Or just so long as the other troll you're fighting comes out in worse shape than you did" Rufioh smirked.  
CG: Gamzee nodded. "Exactly." he said and then looked a head for a moment. "There is the town." he said pointing since it was able to be seen from where they were."  
TA: Rufioh nodded and drove the hoof-beasts into the town, slowing them down and then stopping. He knocked on the wood behind them. "We're stopping here"  
CG: As soon as they stopped Gamzee got out of the cart and headed around back to open it up for the other two.  
TA: Sollux elbowed Karkat "KK, wake up". Rufioh hopped off the side of the cart and walked round the back.  
CG: Karkat opened his eyes in time for the doors to be opened. "Why are we stopping its still day time."  
TA: "I dunno" Sollux shrugged, "Gamzee, where are we?" he shouted over.  
CG: "We are at a town for supplies and weapons." he said simply.  
TA: "Weapons?" Sollux said, confused. Rufioh got up into the cart and walked towards them "Don't worry kid, its just a precaution.  
TA: "  
CG: Karkat smiled a bit. "I like the sound of them." he said and stood up a bit before wrapping his arms around Rufioh. "Does that mean we will also be doing training?"  
TA: Rufioh smiled down at him and kissed his nose "Yep......which means we go back to the days of me kicking your butt on training"  
CG: Karkat rolled his eyes. "Except I will be the ones kicking your butt now. I was still a wriggler back then but not anymore."  
TA: "Yeah and I used to be a kid and now I'm a fully grown troll....so you better prepare yourself" he grinned. Sollux stood up and stretched then groaned quietly and held his stomach.  
CG: Karkat laughed a bit. Gamzee instantly came up and wrapped his arms around Sollux. "Maybe we should clean you up." he whispered in his ear so the others coudlnt hear it.  
TA: Sollux nuzzled up to him "It's alright, it feels weird but nice" he purred.  
CG: Gamzee nodded and kissed his cheek. "Alright but let me know it is gets to be too much." he said and purred back softly.  
TA: Sollux nodded and took his hand "Does this mean I get to train with you?" he asked, smiling up at him.  
CG: Gamzee nodded. "Yeah but a lot of it will most likely be with Rufioh since if he hits ya it will only be bruises but if it do it will be broken bones that ya get."  
TA: Sollux nodded "Or I could spar with KK too?" he said, loud enough for Karkat to hear.  
CG: Karkat smiled. "It would be fun but you can’t use your psiioniics if we do spar." he said looking over at Sollux happily.  
TA: Sollux chuckled "Fine, I guess I'll prepare myself for bite marks then"  
CG: Karkat laughed. "Lets get going." he said and headed towards the back of the cart with Rufioh.  
TA: Sollux dragged Gamzee behind him and jumped out of the cart.  
CG: Gamzee smiled and followed easily and got down after Sollux had.  
TA: Sollux looked at the town, it seemed fairly small and quiet.  
CG: Gamzee wrapped an arm around Sollux and started in. Karkat closed up the cart and then took Rufioh's hand and hurried after the other two.  
TA: Rufioh picked up Karkat and sat him on his shoulders while Sollux walked close to Gamzee.  
CG: Karkat smiled and held on and looked around at everything. "So want to tell me why you love carrying me like this?" He asked teasingly down to Rufioh.  
TA: Rufioh spun around "Cos I used to when you were just a wriggler and those were good times" he smiled.  
CG: Karkat thought for a moment and smiled. "Yeah but I was always hurt when you would do it." He said and started to play with Rufioh's hair.  
TA: "True, but it wasn’t always like that" Rufioh purred a little when Karkat touched his hair.  
CG: Karkat smiled when he heard the felt the other purring. "Oh? When else did it happen?"  
TA: "That time I snuck you out to my treehive and you fell asleep in the afternoon....Tinkerbull convinced me to take you home and I carried you all the way like this" Rufioh smiled at the memory.  
CG: Karkat smiled as he remembered the day. "I must have been out of it because I don’t actually remember when I got home or anything. It freaked me out and Crabdad spent a while calming me down though I am sure he had no idea what it was freaking out about."  
TA: "Yeah sorry about that, I had to leave pretty quickly or else Crabdad would have caught me" Rufioh chuckled.  
CG: "Yeah I know that now. It was really just the change of where I was that freaked me out.... You also put me in the wrong room." he said laughing a bit.  
TA: "It was the closest room I could find that wasn’t locked!" Rufioh laughed a little "You looked so adorable....nothings changed" He looked up at him.  
CG: Karkat smiled and played with his hair more. "You changed but it was definitely a great change." he said smiling.  
TA: Rufioh purred again "How so?"  
CG: "You got more muscle. You grew a lot more than I have. And there is something different in your eyes now." he said with a small hum.  
TA: Rufioh smiled "Yeah I guess I have grown but....other than that I think I'm still the same"  
CG: "Are you kidding you almost as skinny as Sollux when you were younger." he said laughing a bit.  
TA: Rufioh laughed too "Well you can thank Mindfang for all that"  
CG: "Well then I will make sure to cut her heart out fast then as thanks." he said a small growl in his voice as he spoke about it.  
TA: Rufioh rolled his eyes "She would cull you first, from the inside out"  
CG: "I can block her out." he said looking around a bit at some of the thing that were being sold.  
TA: "It's not that easy to block her out" Rufioh walked over to one of the stalls.  
CG: "Its not easy to block out chucklevoodoos and I can do that." he said as he looked at the stall that they came up to.  
TA: "I guess....but it took me sweeps to build up a tolerance, and by that time she'd gotten stronger....she's a good boss though I suppose....kept everyone in check" Rufioh looked at the stall, on the table was a selection of different rustic jewelry.  
CG: Karkat thought about that and nodded. "Yeah that makes sense." He said and looked down at what was there. Some were very interesting in the way that they were made.  
TA: Rufioh picked up a small ring, it was a band of bronze that had been melted and twisted into an intricate design, he held it up to Karkat "Go try that on for me kid?"  
CG: Karkat took the ring and slid it on his finger it fit him close to perfect and he smiled. "It fits." he said as he held his hand down so Rufioh could see it.  
TA: Rufioh smiled and kissed his hand then looked over to try and find the other two "GAMZEE!"  
CG: Gamzee stopped and looked back at him. "Lets go see what he wants." he said and then headed back towards them.  
TA: Sollux followed him, Rufioh smiled at them both "Gamzee, I've got a favour to ask"  
CG: Gamzee gave a small shrug at his words. "Then ask away." he said with bit of a smile as he held Sollux close.  
TA: "Mind payin for a little somethin for Karkat?" Rufioh asked, considering me didn’t have any money of his own.  
CG: Gamzee pulled out a small coin purse he looked inside and then handed it over to Rufioh. "Here there should be plenty in there for what you are getting here and anything that you want to get somewhere else." he said and then looked down at Sollux. "You are allowed to get things as well."  
TA: Rufioh smiled "Thanks!" he payed for the ring and then walked off to see the other stalls. Sollux looked up to Gamzee "I wouldn’t know what to buy" he said with a shrug.  
CG: "Anything you want." Gamzee said and kissed Sollux's forehead. Karkat looked around at the stalls that they went to and smiled at some of the things that he saw. And when they passed by a certain stall he motioned to Rufioh. "Put me down for a moment and let me have a few coins."  
TA: Rufioh put him down and then passed him a few of Gamzees coins, he ruffed his mates hair gently. Sollux looked around a little.  
CG: Karkat smiled and then pulled Rufioh to a short kiss. "You go on and I will catch up in a minute." he said smiling then started dodging through the small crowd. Gamzee walked beside Sollux. "By the way Solbro what weapons do you use?"  
TA: "Be careful!" Rufioh called after him and then sighed a little, walking along the stalls. Sollux held his hand "I used to use throwing stars when I had to hunt"  
CG: "Always!" Karkat shouted back before heading off to one of the stalls that they had passed. Gamzee looked a bit impressed. "That sounds cool. I was never very good with stuff like that."  
TA: Sollux shrugged "I wasn’t very good either, but it was something I was working on" He looked around at the stalls and tugged Gamzee over to one.  
CG: Gamzee nodded "They aint easy." he said smiling and followed Sollux over to the stall that he was being pulled to.  
TA: On the stall was an array of different coloured leather-bound notebooks with matching ink quills "These look cool" Sollux smiled.  
CG: Gamzee smiled. "You could all up and keep yourself a journal if ya wanted." he said smiling since it might be something that Sollux would like to do. "Or help teach Karbro to read and write."  
TA: Sollux smiled up at him "That would be good! What colour do you think I should get?"  
CG: Gamzee thought for a moment. "Well lets get you this one." he said pointing to one that had a picture of a forest on it that spread throughout the entire cover. "And then we can get these two as well that way Karbro has one to write in and one to learn with." he said and one of the other two had a reddish brown cover with elegant markings on it and and the other was a pure black with an entire spectrum of bright colors going through it that also made up wonderful designs.  
TA: Sollux smiled and nodded happily "Thanks!" he picked up the notebooks and then looked up at him considering Sollux didn’t have any money either.  
CG: Gamzee easily pulled out the money and handed it over to the sales troll. Karkat finished up with what he went to do and then returned to Rufioh smiling wide and with a box in his hand.  
TA: Sollux grinned up at him and leaned up to kiss him for thanks. Rufioh put his arm around Karkat when he came back "What's that?"  
CG: Gamzee kissed him back and then took his hand and continued on. Karkat smiled and held the box close. "A surprise." he said in a teasing voice.  
TA: Sollux walked close to him. Rufioh pulled a face a chuckled "Come on..." he reached for the box.  
CG: Gamzee looked around at everything and of course saw a few things that he thought were interesting. Karkat held the box away a little still smiling playfully.  
TA: "See anything you'd like?" Sollux asked. Rufioh giggled and picked him up "Tell meee..."  
CG: "A few things but nothing that is all that great." Gamzee said with a shrug. Karkat laughed as he was picked up. "Noooo......you have to close your eyes."  
TA: "There must be something!" Sollux insisted. Rufioh rolled his eyes and smiled "Okay okay" he closed his eyes and put him down.  
CG: "I am sure I will find something Solbro. Or you can pick somethin out if ya want." he said smiling. Karkat smiled at Rufioh and as soon as his eyes were closed and he was set on the ground Karkat opened the box and tied something around the other's neck.  
TA: "Hm, we can have a look" Sollux nuzzled him a little. Rufioh felt it and frowned a little "Can I open my eyes yet?"  
CG: Gamzee nodded and kissed the top of his head. "Lead the way then." he said. Karkat pulled his hands back and nodded. "Yeah go a head." When Rufioh opened his eyes he would see a necklace with a sharp fang at the end that was made from a stone that was almost a pure black but that a shine to it that caused it to look many different colors int he light but the best part of it was a secret that Karkat was going to wait to tell him.  
TA: Sollux smiled and tugged him along. Rufioh opened his eyes and looked down, smiling instantly "Karkat....this is so beautiful" he grinned at him.  
CG: Gamzee followed easily and looked around a bit as they walked. Karkat instantly grinned and then then showed Rufioh that he was wearing one as well. "They were a set and later I can show you why." he said and moved to kiss him glad that he liked it.  
TA: Rufioh smiled and brought him into a kiss "I love them" he said happily. Sollux led Gamzee to a stall "What about this one?"  
CG: Karkat smiled and then hugged him glowing with how happy he was about it all. Gamzee followed Sollux and looked to see what was being sold at the stall.  
TA: Rufion held him tightly and then nuzzled him "Come on, lets find the others" he said. Sollux had led Gamzee to a stall where there was a number of wooden carved daggers and some larger blades.  
CG: Karkat nodded "Yeah who knows what trouble they will get into without us there." he said. Gamzee looked at everything. "Is there one that you all up and like and want?" he asked smiling since they all looked like they were really well made.  
TA: Rufioh laughed and looked around for Gamzee and Sollux. "No I meant for you" Sollux said, inspecting the weapons.  
CG: Karkat smiled and then said. "Put me on your shoulders again. I should be able to see them then." he said and he also just liked to be carried right now. Gamzee smiled. "I think they all look great but I don’t all up and use blades."


	16. More Markets Galore

TA: Rufioh scooped him up and put him on his shoulders "You can hold onto my horns of you want, the middle and ends of them aren’t sensitive....I dont want you to fall off either" Rufioh said. Sollux whined a little "Alright, but I’m not letting you leave here without something"  
CG: Karkat smiled and nodded and held onto to his horns making sure not to touch the parts that were sensitive at the moment. "Alright and you don’t have to worry about me falling." he said and looked around. "I think I see them up a head." he said pointing forward. "Don’t worry Solbro we will all be gettin weapons today."  
TA: Rufioh nodded and walked over to where Karkat was talking about. Sollux nodded "Okay, I'm sorry that we are all scrounging money from you too"  
CG: Karkat smiled and started to play with Rufioh's hair once again though he make sure that he would be able to hold on if he needed to. Gamzee smiled. "Trust me Solbro you don’t all up and need to apologize. I got plenty of money that I aint got nothin to do with. I could buy everything in this town and still have plenty of money."  
TA: Sollux smirked "Well one day you might run short, when we're old and grey. Or at least, when I'm old and grey" he chuckled. Rufioh purred loudly and then wandered over to Gamzee and tapped his shoulder.  
CG: Gamzee laughed a bit and kissed him. "I doubt I would run short but don’t worry I don’t spend that much normally." he said and held him close. He then turned when he felt the tap on his shoulder. "Glad to see you motherfucker caught up finally." he said looking up at Karkat since his head was just a bit above his own while sitting on Rufioh's shoulders.  
TA: Sollux smiled and put his arm around Gamzee's waist. Rufioh chuckled "Sorry dog, we were just doin a bit of retail therapy" he smiled and looked up to Karkat.  
CG: Gamzee wrapped his arm around Sollux's shoulders and nodded at them. "Well then if you two are done we should get started on what we came here for." he said. Karkat smiled down at Rufioh and then nodded at Gamzee's words.  
TA: Rufioh grinned "Time to get some highblood-culling material" he said. Sollux laughed weakly but inside he was a little wary of this.  
CG: Karkat rolled his eyes a bit at Rufioh's words. "You are such a trouble maker Rufioh." he said shaking his head. Gamzee nodded and turned around to head towards where he saw a place that looked like it would be a good place for buying weapons that they all wanted.  
TA: Rufioh smirked "You know it, dog" "It's been a while since I've fought without my psiioniics" Sollux said.  
CG: Karkat playfully hit Rufioh at his words and laughed. Gamzee nodded. "I would hope that we can get ya good enough that ya don’t need to unless it is an emergency."  
TA: Sollux nodded "Yup, considering my headaches are getting worse I'd rather not use them too much"  
CG: Gamzee nodded. "And that is a good reason as well." he said and kissed his head. "I might be able to find something to all up and help ya with them."  
TA: "Anything would be appreciated, I can handle them but its just getting a little annoying" Sollux shrugged.  
CG: Gamzee nodded. "Yeah I now and I think it might just be something to put in a tea." he said thinking about it all.  
TA: Sollux shuddered "I hate hot drinks but I'll suffer it" he smiled and looked at the weapons stall.  
CG: "Tea can be cold you know." he said before looking at the weapons and just like he thought there was just about every kind that they could need.  
TA: Sollux smiled and picked up a shiny and sharp throwing star. Rufioh let Karkat down and set him infront so that he could see.  
CG: Karkat looked at everything and it took a few minutes to find what he was looking for. The sickles were a bit heavy but they would work with a little practice.  
TA: Rufioh smiled and ran his finger along the blunt side of the blade. "You like it?" he asked.  
CG: Karkat smiled but also had a bit of a sadness in his expression as he nodded "Yeah." he said softly.  
TA: Rufioh knelt down to him "You alright kiddo?" he kissed his cheek.  
CG: Karkat nodded. "It just makes me think of crabdad." he said and nuzzled into him.  
TA: Rufioh hugged him "He would be so proud of you, I mean....He'd be annoyed that I'm here but he'd be proud of what you have done with your life,"  
CG: Karkat laughed a bit at Rufioh's words. "I don’t think he would mind as much now that I am older." he said softly as he nuzzled into Rufioh.  
TA: "I dunno about that....I'm pretty sure he hated me" Rufioh nuzzled back.  
CG: Karkat smiled. "He hated everyone because was so young that I couldn’t defend myself against most." he said before pulling away a bit and smiling when he saw the straps that would hold the sickles to his back.  
TA: Rufioh ruffled his hair and smiled as he saw him happy again. Sollux held the throwing stars up to Gamzee "These are so much better than my old ones"  
CG: "Good I’m glad about that." he said and then looked at Rufioh. "Do they have what you need here?" he asked since he had already spotted some clubs that he would look over once everyone else had what they needed.  
TA: Rufioh looked to the back of the stall and saw a large lance propped up against the wall. Rufioh grinned happily "Oh I think I see something I like"  
CG: Gamzee rolled his eyes at how Rufioh said it. "Well then get it and make sure that it works for you." He said and then moved to look at the different clubs that were there.  
TA: Rufioh got the lance and smiled, holding it in his hands and then twirling it in his hands by the handle.  
CG: Karkat watched Rufioh with a smile on his lips. "Looks good." he said. Gamzee found a pair of clubs that worked for him perfectly. They were heavy but for him and his natural strength they felt perfect.  
TA: Rufioh nodded "this will definitely work" he smiled. Sollux turned around and quickly spun a sharp star at a wing beast that was flying overhead. He smiled as it fell "My aims still pretty good"  
CG: Karkat smiled and watched as the bird fell. "I still have better aim." he said teasingly to Sollux. Gamzee picked up the clubs and the back straps for them and walked over. "Everyone have what they need?"  
TA: Sollux rolled his eyes, as Rufioh hissed at him "Wasn’t there anything else you could have practiced on? ....what did that innocent beast do to you?" he shoved Sollux a little. "Its just a wing-beast Rufioh" He growled back.  
CG: Karkat moved forward instantly when he saw Rufioh acting up like he was. He had actually forgotten how he got with things like that. He grabbed Rufioh's arm and put himself in front of him. "Rufioh calm down. Alright it just means that we get some fresh meat today." he said "Just like what the hunters at the camp would bring back."  
TA: "No, he didn’t do it for that reason...." Rufioh growled over Karkat to Sollux "You just culled it cos you felt like it....cos you just wanted to show off and prove something" Sollux hissed to him "Rufioh calm the fuck down its not a big deal" Rufioh moved Karkat over gently and towered over Sollux, growling.  
CG: Karkat cursed when he was moved and when all of his attempts to help weren’t helping at all. He knew that if this continued then Gamzee would step in which he was already waiting to do if Rufioh tried to touch Sollux again. Karkat grabbed Rufioh's arm and jerked him back with all of the strength and weight that he had and then snapped at him. "RUFIOH ENOUGH!" he snapped barring his fangs a bit to show that he was being serious.  
TA: Rufioh snarled at Karkat and shook his head "Karkat don’t you get it? He's just throwing his weight around and acting up, Its stupid....that wingbeast never did anything to him to deserve being killed like that" He shouted, he wasn’t angry at Karkat much, more at Sollux who was preparing to fight Rufioh if need be "Don’t shout at him!"  
CG: Karkat looked back at Sollux. "Sollux be quite." he said then turned back to Rufioh. "That may be but there are plenty of other ways to go about this and several that won’t cause Gamzee to try to tear your head off." He said trying to calm Rufioh down. "I know that it upsets you and it is my fault this happened. I forgot that you get upset over that stuff easy and so I never told Sollux."  
TA: "Karkat you don’t have to act like I'm a ticking time bomb of emotions all the time." Rufioh said with a growl "He culled an animal for no reason, thats not your fault at all"  
CG: "I am not saying that you are a ticking time bomb of emotions Rufioh. Because I know that between all of us I am probably that one. But if you think about it people cull animals for no reason all the time and then decide that they are going to eat it." he said still trying to be as calm as he could to help Rufioh.  
TA: "That doesn’t make it any better, the hunters from our camp only culled enough beasts to eat and no more." Rufioh was starting to get more angry.  
CG: Karkat looked at him. "Are you absolutely sure about that Rufioh? How can you know that for sure that they never culled something outside of wanting to eat it?"  
TA: "Because I used to hunt with them when I stayed there, thats why they all know me" Rufioh said.  
CG: "Alright but you werent there all the time Rufioh. You should know best that people don’t always act the way they do in front of people that are stronger than them and will fight for something they believe in, than when they are not."  
TA: "That still doesn’t make it right, it doesn’t make what he did right" He said, a little calmer now, knowing there was no reasoning with him. Sollux just rolled his eyes "Fucks sake" he said under his breath.  
CG: Karkat made a hand motion to Sollux when he heard the words. "I know it wasn’t. But why don’t you think about the positive part of this. Its not like we are going to just leave it here to rot or for some other beast to get a free meal."  
TA: Sollux stuck his tongue out at Karkat. Rufioh nodded a little "Alright, but I'm not eating any of it"  
CG: "Thats fine we can find you something else." he said calmly. "And you and I can have a private meal tonight if you want." he said wrapping his arms around him gently.  
TA: Rufioh smiled a little at that and pulled him close "You’re doing a Gamzee and trying to make me feel better with fluffy relationship stuff" he chuckled.  
CG: Karkat smiled. "Except I can’t just pick you up and carry you off." he said teasingly as he moved to kiss him. "Besides I was going to suggest we do that anyway."  
TA: Rufioh smiled into the kiss and then pulled away a little "I'd love that"  
CG: Karkat smiled and nuzzled into him. Gamzee seeing that things had settled down spoke to the sales troll and bought the weapons for him Karkat and Rufioh and then bought a couple small boxes of the throwing stars for Sollux so he would have plenty.  
TA: Sollux smiled and took the boxes from Gamzee excitedly and opened them "Thank you" he said, looking up to him.  
CG: "Your welcome." Gamzee said and kissed him. Karkat smiled and then held up the back straps "Want to help me get them fitted?"  
TA: Sollux kissed back gently. "Sure" Rufioh said and took the straps from him.  
CG: Karkat smiled and moved so they could be put on him and then waited patiently as Rufioh tightened everything so it fit perfectly. Gamzee held Sollux close and continued to kiss him for a few more seconds before pulling back. "We need to all up and find ya somethin to keep those in."  
TA: Rufioh leaned over him and fitted everything to him. Sollux nodded and looked back at the stall.  
CG: Once everything was fitted Karkat moved around and smiled. "It fits better than that thing I had when I was younger." he said smiling. Gamzee looked as well but there was nothing to hold the throwing stars that Sollux had.  
TA: "Its a good thing we came here then" Rufioh smiled. Sollux looked around and then to Gamzee, he shrugged with a small smile and shoved a few throwing stars in his pockets.  
CG: Karkat nodded then turned to Gamzee. "Rufioh and I can go get started with getting the food and other supplies like that that we need." he said and Gamzee nodded and handed over more money since he knew that they would need it.  
TA: Sollux moved a little closer to Karkat "Get new blankets too while you’re at it" he said so that only Karkat would hear.  
CG: Karkat rolled his eyes. "You sure we need more?" he asked teasingly but nodded anyway knowing that he would get them.  
TA: Sollux smirked and moved back to Gamzee "What will we do?"  
CG: "Go look for what you need for your stars and then work on getting some water I would assume." he said with a shrug.  
TA: "Alright, can we get some more clothes too? I've been wearing the same shirt for like two weeks" Sollux groaned.  
CG: Gamzee nodded. "Probably a good idea. " He said then looked over to Karkat and Rufioh. "get some for you both as well." he said and Karkat nodded. "Will do."  
TA: Sollux grabbed Gamzees hand and waved a little to Karkat, purposefully ignoring Rufioh "Meet back here in a couple hours?"  
CG: Karkat nodded and then headed off with Rufioh so they could get started. "What do you want to start with? Clothes or food?"  
TA: "Clothes....the later we get the food the fresher it will be for when we eat it" Rufioh smiled.  
CG: Karkat nodded. "Alright then lets go find some good clothes for us." he said and started through the crowd.  
TA: Rufioh walked in front of him to guide him through.  
CG: Karkat followed happily and looked around at everything happily especially since he now had the sickles that he was used to fighting with.  
TA: "Theres a stall over there that looks like its got some stuff......I guess the aim is keepin us warm?" Rufioh asked. Sollux kept looking at the stalls for something else to hold the throwing stars in.  
CG: Karkat nodded. "Yeah and something that we can move in as well as probably something a bit warmer just in case." he said and headed towards the stall.  
TA: Rufioh picked up a thin loose jumper from the stall and held it up to Karkat "It might be a bit big but you'll want something comfortable for the bump"  
CG: Karkat looked at it and nodded. "Your right." He said and held it up to himself. "But we should also find some smaller stuff if we can."  
TA: Rufioh nodded and looked through the clothes, he groaned a little "None of these have wing holes"  
CG: "I can help make some for you if you see one you like." Karkat said since he had learned how to do it.  
TA: "That would be good, I can’t sew or anything to stop it from fraying so....I usually just cut it"  
CG: "If we get the supplies I can sew it up a bit so it won’t fray." he said as he looked around and found a shirt that he thought would look good on Rufioh and showed it to him.  
TA: Rufioh took the shirt from him and nodded "Think you can work your magic on this one?"  
CG: Karkat nodded. "Yeah it doesn’t look like it would be that hard of a fabric to do that.  
TA: Rufioh smiled and threw a pair of trousers to Karkat "They your size?"  
CG: Karkat looked at them and then nodded. "Yeah though not sure how well they will fit right now."  
TA: "The waistband looks stretchy enough, I think you'll be alright....we'll have to buy you more clothes once the grub comes"  
CG: Karkat nodded. "Yeah so we can try this." he said and then found a couple other shirts that he liked.  
TA: Rufioh found a few other things he liked and paid for them using Gamzee's coins.  
CG: Once the clothes were all bought Karkat moved so he could start buying the food for his and Rufioh's night and then of course more provisions for the trip.  
TA: Rufioh followed him around and paid for the things they would need. Sollux picked up a leather holster that looked like it could work for his throwing stars "Gamzee"  
CG: Karkat moved and got plenty of stuff and in the end they spent all of the money that the two of them had been given. Gamzee walked over to Sollux when he heard his name. "Yeah?"  
TA: "What do you think of this?" Sollux held up the holster against his chest.  
CG: Gamzee looked it over. "Will it hold them all?" he asked with a smile.  
TA: Sollux shrugged "I dunno, hopefully"  
CG: "Well try it out real quick." he said since he could pay for it even if it was broken.  
TA: Sollux passed Gamzee the holster and then put all the stars in it, they all fitted except for one.  
CG: Gamzee smiled when he saw that only one didn’t fit.  
TA: "Bloody typical" Sollux said then looked to Gamzee. "I guess I'll just hold this one"  
CG: Gamzee smiled. "If thats what you want. But I should tell you that I found something else if you want to look at it.  
TA: "Oh now you tell me" Sollux smiled "What is it then?"  
CG: Gamzee grabbed it from somewhere else that would be hidden from Sollux's view. "This is it." he said and it was actually made for holding the stars.  
TA: Sollux took the stars from the old holster and set it aside, he held his arms up "Mind putting it on me?"  
CG: Gamzee nodded and fitted it on Sollux. There were places at the hips, sides, and on his chest to hold the stars.  
TA: Sollux filled it with the stars and smiled "I really like this one"  
CG: "Thats good." Gamzee said and then paid the sales troll. "Well anything else we need?"  
TA: "Water and then clothes, what do you wanna get first?"  
CG: "Up to you Solbro what do you think would be easier?"  
TA: "Probably clothes first, unless you want to lug water around for hours"  
CG: Gamzee nodded. "Alright then lets go get the clothes." he said and wrapped his arm around Sollux.  
TA: Sollux nuzzled into him and walked around a lilttle to look at the stalls.  
CG: Gamzee walked beside him and when he found a stall with some good looking clothes he pulled Sollux over so they could start looking.  
TA: Sollux looked at the clothes and found a shirt that looked comfortable. He held it against himself and raised an eyebrow to Gamzee "Well?"  
CG: Gamzee looked at it. "I think it looks good." he said with a smile and then grabbed another shirt and held it up to Sollux though this was was more of him teasing with out bright and over all strange the shirt was.  
TA: Sollux rolled his eyes and shook his head with a smile "I don’t think thats quite my style" he chuckled.  
CG: "Sure it is Solbro." Gamzee said laughing as he put it up. He then looked around until he found a shirt that would fit him.  
TA: "That one looks good, but anything would look good on you" Sollux smiled.  
CG: Gamzee smiled and kissed him. "Same as you though everything makes you look even better than the perfectness that I see."  
TA: Sollux smiled and shook his head, blushing a little "Stop it..."  
CG: "Stop what?" Gamzee asked as he kissed his cheek.  
TA: "Saying things like that about me when its not true"  
CG: "It is true though Sol." he said and kissed at his jaw. "I can see it and so can many others."  
TA: Sollux blushed more and shook his head again "No..."  
CG: "Yes." he whispered and nipped Sollux's ear gently and pulled him closer to himself.  
TA: "No..." he whispered back and wrapped his arms around him.  
CG: "yes you are." he said and kissed at his neck and gave small bites.  
TA: Sollux shook his head again and moved his hands down lower on Gamzee's back.  
CG: "Looks like I am going to have to prove it to you." he said and gave a slightly harder bite.  
TA: Sollux gave a small gasp at the bite and then smiled "I guess so..."  
CG: "We should hurry back to the cart then." he said "But to do that we need to finish with this and getting the water."  
TA: Sollux nodded and then reached back on the stall, he grabbed a pair of extremely bright and short shorts, he tossed them to Gamzee "I think these would suit you" he said with a smile, obviously joking.  
CG: Gamzee rolled his eyes. "Ha ha ha Solbro very funny." he said before putting the shorts back and finished picking out his own clothes.  
TA: Sollux picked up a few other things that would fit him and looked up to Gamzee "Are these okay?"  
CG: Gamzee nodded. "Anything you want." he said and then paid for everything that they had picked out.  
TA: Sollux smiled and hugged the clothes a little "Will we look for a stream now?"  
CG: Gamzee nodded. "I know where it is." he said and led the way.  
TA: Sollux followed and smiled at Karkat on the way past.  
CG: Karkat smiled back and kept going with Rufioh already heading back to the cart.  
TA: Rufioh opened up the back of the cart and flung the things they bought in.  
CG: Karkat smiled and then went in to organize it all a little.  
TA: Rufioh leaned on the side of the cart and kept watch. Sollux followed Gamzee to the stream and knelt down.  
CG: Gamzee knelt beside him and started to put the water in the containers that they had. Karkat put everything up and then spread the blankets out over the pile so there wouldn’t be any problems again.  
TA: Sollux watched for a bit and then smiled when he saw something in the water "Bet you a coin that I can catch that fish" he said. Rufioh climbed up to him and smiled a little "This place is lookin strangely cosy"  
CG: Gamzee looked in and smiled. "Twenty coins if ya do it with your hands." he said playfully. Karkat nodded. "Got to make due with what you have. And for now this is the most that we have."  
TA: "Fine, but if you push me in you have to catch it instead" Sollux smiled and positioned himself so that he had one leg either side of the stream. Rufioh nodded "We'll find somewhere a bit less....mobile, in another town and make it our own"  
CG: Gamzee laughed "Alright fine." he said smiling though he knew he wasn’t going to push Sollux right then. Karkat smiled and nodded "Yeah it would be nice to have that again." he said smiling before wrapping his arms around Rufioh. "Now we just need to figure out what we want for dinner."  
TA: Sollux steadied himself and put his hands out, he waited for the fish to swim underneath him and then he lunged down with his hands and grabbed it in the water. Rufioh held Karkat and nodded "I can knock up a good stew with the right ingredients and a fire?"  
CG: Gamzee watched Sollux smiling actually hoping that he got the fish. Karkat smiled at Rufioh's suggestion. "That sounds really good actually." he said and thought for a moment. "Remember how to make the one with the meat and potatoes that you made for me when we were young?"  
TA: Sollux frowned as the fish squirmed in his hands, he brought it out the water and wobbled a little before hopping over to one side and falling into Gamzee. Rufioh smiled "Yeah, although there was more than that in it....I used to sneak more vegetables in it to keep you strong....not that I told you" he chuckled.  
CG: Gamzee caught Sollux and smiled. "Alright Solbro you got twenty coins and we can get that prepared for a meal tomorrow." he said since it was tiring eating the mostly jerky like meat all the time. Karkat pretended to be shocked. "You horrible person how dare you do such a thing that I totally noticed every time you did it."  
TA: Sollux grinned and then leaned on Gamzee, he quickly took out one of his throwing stars and jammed it into the head of the fish, he shrugged "Wouldn’t have lasted long out of water anyway" Rufioh gasped and looked down "Was the fact it was mostly green a tell-tale sign?"  
CG: Gamzee nodded. "Make sure you take the insides out or it will spoil." he said smiling. Karkat smiled at Rufioh's words. "Part of it. But I also saw you making it several times so I saw the extra veggies that you put in."  
TA: Sollux sat down on the grass with the fish in his lap, he used the point of a throwing star to slice open the fish and he started to cut out the parts they couldnt eat. Rufioh laughed a little and messed with Karkat's hair "Oh well, you still ate it" he shrugged "Do we have a pan big enough for it?"  
CG: Gamzee nuzzled into Sollux as he watched him work smiling. He was actually fine with the traveling life since most of his life he had to spend it at one single place. Karkat smiled and swatted at Rufioh's hand a bit before he went to look for the pan that they would need. "Will this one work?" he asked pulling out one.  
TA: Sollux nuzzled back and tossed the insides of the fish back into the stream, his clothes were a blotchy with the blood of the fish but he didn’t mind much. Sollux tore off the sleeve of his shirt and wrapped up the fish, then tore off his other sleeve to make it even and to clean off his hands, he figured since he was going to be changing into new clothes soon anyway it didn’t matter too much. Rufioh nodded when he saw the pan "I can start the fire, then all we need is meat, potatoes for texture, water, and any other vegetable that is around just for added taste." He smiled.  
CG: Gamzee smiled and then stood up with Sollux. "Alright why don’t we take this water and head back to the cart." He said smiling as he picked up most of the water that they had gathered so that Sollux wouldn’t have to carry as much and would be able to easily carry the fish. Karkat smiled at Rufioh's words and nodded. "Well I can look around and figure out what all we have and what we can do. What kind of meat would you want in the stew?"  
TA: Sollux stood up and took a lighter canister of water and the fish, he nodded and started to head off in the direction of the cart, walking beside Gamzee. Rufioh thought about it "Anything really....actually, a hop-beast might be good, the meat can be rather tough sometimes but its the right size for two trolls of we find one big enough"  
CG: Gamzee walked beside Sollux through the crowds and was happy to get some alone time with Sollux. Karkat thought for a moment. "Yeah hop-beasts are good but I don’t think we will find one that easy around here so we will have to look for something else."  
TA: Sollux looked up at Gamzee, "Thanks for buying everything for us all today, it means we can actually get some decent stuff" Rufioh nodded "Okay, well it doesn’t matter too much....a small antler beast would do too, I used to use hoof-beast meat before my friend stopped me"  
CG: Gamzee nodded at Sollux's words. "No problem." he said smiling glad that Sollux was happy with the day. Karkat nodded. "I thing antler beast will do there should be plenty of those around." He said and then tilted his head. "Why did he make you stop?"  
TA: Sollux wandered through the crowds at a steady pace,he wasn’t really in any rush and was enjoying being alone and relaxed around Gamzee. Rufioh smirked "He really likes hoof-beasts....perhaps to a concerning level....when he found out I ate them he didn’t talk to me for a week so I stopped eventually"  
CG: Gamzee stayed beside Sollux feeling the same when it came to being relaxed and enjoying their time together. Karkat nodded a bit. "Well everyone has something they hate to see be culled so I guess that was his." he said though he still found it a bit strange.  
TA: Rufioh nodded "I guess....but he was hella obsessed with them....we both love animals though and thats kinda how we became friends" He smiled. Sollux sighed happily and looked up at Gamzee in a loving way "Y'know....I'm really glad I walked in on you when we first met, I'd probably be far away from here if it wasn’t for you. I feel like I never really thank you enough"  
CG: Karkat nodded. "That makes sense really." he said smiling before moving towards the edge of the cart. "Why don’t we start looking for an antler beast." he said happily. Gamzee smiled at Sollux's words. "And who knows what I would have been doin." he said and moved to kiss Sollux.  
TA: "Bangarang!" Rufioh smiled and flew out of the cart, scooping up Karkat on the way past and laughing a little. Sollux kissed back for a few seconds before pulling away and shrugging "Probably fucking some other slave" He said in a joking manner.  
CG: Karkat gasped as he was grabbed and then laughed. "Warm me before you do that Rufioh." he said smiling as they went. Gamzee smiled. "Who knows." he said though that might have been somewhat true though it would have never ended well for the slave.  
TA: Rufioh laughed more "Sorry kiddo, I promise from now on that I will" he kissed his nose and lowered into the bushes. Sollux smiled and then paused to think "Gamzee, if I had stayed with the Grand Highblood, what do you honestly think would have happened to me?"  
CG: Karkat smiled and then nuzzled into Rufioh before they went into the bushes. "How good are your skills with tracking these things?" he asked smiling. Gamzee's smile fell almost instantly. "Well if you hadn’t found and be in a way claimed by me then he would have used you and he isn’t gentle at all. And if he found out about your psiioniics then he would have had something made to restrict them and then used you more and if you fought him enough passed you around to the other subjugulators and what not. And the when he got tired of you he would send you off to the Empress so you can pilot her ship until she finally lets you die."  
TA: Rufioh smiled "I'd like to think they are pretty good....or at least they were the last time I hunted." He looked around a little. Sollux stopped walking and looked at his feet "Gamzee, I'm /really/ glad you looked after me in there." he said simply and quietly.  
CG: Karkat smiled. "Well then lets not let this take us too long to find one." he said teasingly. Gamzee set the water down and wrapped his arms around Sollux. "I am glad that I found you even if that wasn’t something that would have happened."  
TA: Rufioh smirked and put Karkat down, he crouched down and motioned for him to be quiet for the moment as he slowly moved further into the woods. Sollux leaned on Gamzee and would have hugged back if it werent for the things in his hands. "I feel the same" he nuzzled him "Can I ask you something?"  
CG: Karkat smiled and stayed where he was so that he wouldn’t scare anything off that Rufioh might have noticed. He followed after him slowly and silently. Gamzee continued to hold onto to Sollux and nuzzled back. "Of course you can." he said soflty.  
TA: Rufioh looked at the ground and moved a few leaves out of the way, he saw a couple hoof prints and slowly started following the trail. Sollux sniffed a little "What we did that first time, you don’t see it as....'claiming'...do you? Please tell me it was because you cared about me?" he looked up at him with wide eyes.  
CG: Karkat followed seeing the trail only after Rufioh had moved stuff and started after it. He himself was very out of practice and hadn’t gotten very good at it when he had been learning when he was young. Gamzeee sighed a bit at Sollux's words and the way that he looked at him. "Honestly it was both. I cared about you and so I didn’t want Grand Highblood to be able to take you so I claimed you as mine before he would be able to."  
TA: Rufioh crept along and started to find more tracks and droppings as they followed the trail, soon, the antlerbeast was in full view. Sollux looked down again and nodded "Just as long as it was for the right reasons, wasn’t it?" he asked, genuinely a little scared of his answer. Sollux didn’t want to think about if Gamzee just claimed him to pail with, he shuddered a little.  
CG: Karkat stayed right behind Rufioh and when he saw the antler beast he smiled and waited to see what Rufioh planned to do and if he could help then he definitely would. Gamzee held Sollux even closer and kissed the top of his head. "I did it to keep you safe." he said which was the truth. "Lets get back to the cart."  
TA: Rufioh turned back to Karkat and smiled before moving round to an area that was a little more clear, albeit a few metres away from the beast. Sollux just nodded again, not really fully content with his answer. He held his things close and started through the crowds again.  
CG: Karkat followed Rufioh around and smiled when he saw the beast. "Its a nice one." he murmured softly enough that only Rufioh would be able to hear him. Gamzee picked up the water that he had been carrying and started after Sollux walking right behind him.  
TA: Rufioh nodded to him "Stay here, and get your sickles ready" He whispered. Sollux made his way to the cart and put the things down, he stretched a little and cracked his knuckles.  
CG: Karkat nodded and reached back and took hold of one of his sickles ready to use it when needed. Gamzee put the water in the car and then climbed up to poor it into the larger containers that were there. "what do you know we almost completely filled this one."  
TA: Rufioh flapped his wings and flew up as silently as he could and hovered far enough above the beast that it wouldn’t sense him. Sollux nodded "The hoof-beasts will be glad of that" he put his hand to his stomach and whimpered a little at the pressure "I uh, think I'm ready to clean up now" he said with a slight blush.  
CG: Karkat watched Rufioh for only a second or two before he looked back to the beast and waited for everything to start. Gamzee smiled at Sollux's words and nodded. "Alright come on and lets go somewhere more private to do that." he said and held his hand out to him.  
TA: Rufioh smiled and dropped down quickly on the antler-beast, he bore all his weight on its back with his feet and forced it to crumple down to the floor before it got a chance to run away. Sollux took his hand, his fingers shaking a little "Sorry I couldnt hold it for longer"  
CG: Karkat instantly pulled his sickles out and moved forward he knew exactly where to cut so the beast died quickly and that is exactly what he did. Gamzee kissed his forehead. "Its fine don’t worry about it Solbro." He said and led him somewhere that they wouldn’t be seen.  
TA: Rufioh smiled and watched as the beast bled out. He held up a hand to Karkat for a high five. Sollux nodded and pulled down his pants, small spots of purple had leaked out onto them and more had smeared down his inner leg.  
CG: Karkat high fived Rufioh and then cleaned his sickle off before putting back where it belonged on his back. "Yep your skills are still good." he said smiling. Gamzee moved behind Sollux so he would be able to lean on him while he cleaned himself up.  
TA: Rufioh grinned and got off the beast, "Right, would you do the honours of cutting it open?" Sollux leaned back on Gamzee and slid his hand between his legs, he pushed his fingers into his nook and made a small noise.  
CG: Karkat nodded and pulled out a small knife that he had bought earlier as well when they were getting weapons. Though he hadn’t exactly let Gamzee see him doing it. He then went and cut open the beast and then started to work on cleaning it all out. Gamzee held onto Solluc so that he wouldn’t have to worry about falling at all and let him do what he needed and was ready to help if Sollux asked for it.  
TA: Rufioh watched and nodded as he worked "You’re good at that" Rufioh said. Sollux mewled softly as the purple mess trickled out, he blushed like crazy and leaned his head up, stretching his own nook out more.  
CG: "I had to do I a lot when with Crabdad because if he did it he wound up ruining the meat all together." he said smiling a bit. Gamzee kissed Sollux's cheeks when he leaned his head up.  
TA: "Yeah I can’t see those massive pincers being much use" Rufioh laughed a bit. Sollux moaned softly and shivered, more dripped out until there was a small steady stream, causing him to call out a little more.  
CG: Karkat nodded. "Yeah but he at least tried." he said before he finished cleaning the stuff out. "There all done." Gamzee smiled and rubbed Sollux's stomach gently before giving it a small push so the material would come out a little more.  
TA: Rufioh smiled happily, he stood up and picked up Karkat, holding him over his shoulder and then hoisted the beast over his other shoulder. Sollux purred loudly as the material was pushed out, slowly moving his fingers in and out and smiling a little.  
CG: Karkat held onto Rufioh when he was picked up and didn’t even care when the beast was put on the other shoulder. "Lets get back so we can eat." he said happily. Gamzee continued to add the small pressure to the stomach to help it all get out.  
TA: Rufioh walked out of the woods and bounced him a little, "We are gonna eat good tonight" Sollux moaned louder as the material came out more, he held his nook spread open with his fingers.  
CG: Karkat smiled and laughed a bit. "With the two of us we could eat good ever night." he said before giving a small groan and bringing his hand to his stomach.  
CG: Gamzee continued to put the pressure on the stomach and then rubbed Sollux  
CG: Sollux's side with his other hand.  
TA: Rufioh immediately put him down when he heard him groan and stroked his cheek "You alright?" he asked, sounding concerned. Sollux panted a little and waited until it was mostly out, he pushed his fingers in more and rested against Gamzee, his own legs tainted with purple.  
CG: Karkat nodded. "Yeah just a movement." he said rubbing the bump. "It just is weird." he said leaning against Rufioh a bit. Gamzee smiled when he saw that it was all gone. "Feel better Solbro?"  
TA: Rufioh nodded "Do you need me to do anything?" Sollux nodded and smiled "Yeah" he rubbed his stomach a bit.  
CG: Karkat shook his head. "No just put me back on your shoulder and I will be fine." he said smiling as the movement stopped. "Thats good." Gamzee said and kissed him happily.  
TA: Rufioh nodded but held him in his arm instead, not wanting to put any pressure on his stomach. Sollux kissed back and turned around to kiss him properly.  
CG: Karkat smiled and then nuzzled into him. "I said shoulder you know." he said though he wasn’t actually complaining. Gamzee wrapped his arms around him and continued to kiss him.  
TA: "I know....I just don’t want to make things any worse" Rufioh kissed his cheek. Sollux pushed his fingers in more and moaned into the kiss.  
CG: Karkat chuckled a bit and then closed his eyes and relaxed for the walk back. Gamzee chuckled and moved his hand down to where Sollux's nook was and pushed a couple fingers in beside Sollux's.  
TA: Rufioh brought him back to the cart and flopped the beast down and then let Karkat down slowly. Sollux purred even more and moved his hips againsy both thier hands.  
CG: Karkat opened his eyes when he was set down. "Here I will help skin and cut it up." he said moving towards the edge so he could get down. Gamzee smiled and pushed his fingers deeper into Sollux.  
TA: Rufioh helped him down and sat down beside the dead beast. Sollux kissed down Gamzee's neck and rubbed inside himself.  
CG: Karkat smiled and then started to carefully cut away the hide of the beast. "Maybe we can sell this in town since we don’t have enough time to turn it into a blanket." he said to Rufioh. Gamzee tilted his head up a bit so that Sollux could reach his neck easier and then started to rub against a sweet spot.  
TA: Rufioh smiled "That would be a great idea!" he used his claws to help pull back the hide. Sollux moaned louder and moved his own fingers in and out, he kissed Gamzee's neck more and bit him softly.  
CG: Karkat slowly got the entire skin off without one mistake and not a single hole being stabbed into it. And when it was done he smiled. "Aright that is done so lets get it cut up and then we cna go sell the hide." he said happily. Gamzee purred at Sollux and continued to focus on the sweet spot since he wanted Sollux to feel as good as possible.  
TA: Rufioh nodded and stroked the hide a little "How much do you think this will go for?" Sollux clung to him with his other hand and moaned "G-Gamzee..."  
CG: Karkat thought for a moment. "Well considering that it is in the best shape that a hide can be in I would say we could get 50 coins for it at most but no less than 30." Gamzee smiled. "You like this Solbro?" he purred into his ear.  
TA: Rufioh smiled "We could use the coins to buy for spices and stuff for the stew" Sollux nodded quickly "K-keep going....please" he moved his own fingers in and out faster.  
CG: Karkat smiled and nodded. "Yeah that sounds really good." he said and then climbed into the cart and dug around for the proper knife for cutting up the beast. Gamzee nodded and pressed more against the sweet spot before pulling the fingers away from it only to put it back when he got a reaction from Sollux.  
TA: Rufioh set the beast hide aside and looked at the meat, trying to decide where would be best to cut first. Sollux bit Gamzee again and tensed around the fingers before starting to release around them with a loud call/  
CG: Karkat found the knife that he needed and then moved back and just started to cut like he had learned to. "I'll cut you deal with the pieces after that." he said to Rufioh. Gamzee smiled and only flinched a little when his skin was broken from the bite and he continued to move his fingers against the sweet spot until he knew that Sollux was done.  
TA: Rufioh nodded and watched for a bit before putting the pieces Karkat cut into the pot for cooking. Sollux relaxed completely against Gamzee, panting a little "Fuck..."  
CG: Karkat cut it all up fairly fast since he remembered it all. He smiled as he worked and even hummed a little as well. Gamzee smiled and pulled his fingers out of the other's nook.  
TA: Rufioh listened to him and smiled, he moved and reached for some sticks for the fire. Sollux took his fingers out and wiped them on his shirt he stepped out of his pants and groaned a bit.  
CG: Karkat continued to cut and hum the tune that Crabdad used to screech to him when he was young. Back then he hated it but not that he got the tune he liked it a lot more. Gamzee smiled and looked donw at them. "Guess we should go get your new clothes now."  
TA: Rufioh chuckled a little, recognizing it a bit. "You should sing it" he said softly and started to make the fire. Sollux nodded and smirked "I think we definitely got it all out"  
CG: Karkat looked over and blushed "I don’t know if that is a good idea. I don’t have that good of a voice." he said softly. Gamzee laughed and then kissed him. "Got it all out and then some."  
TA: Rufioh smiled and shook his head "Just go for it kid....I'm the only one here" he shrugged. Sollux purred to him and licked over the bite he made.  
CG: Karkat nodded and started to sing the song out loud as he worked. Gamzee purred back and nuzzled into him happily. Glad that Sollux seemed to be in a good mood.  
TA: Rufioh smiled at him singing and soon joined in softly singing in harmony along with him, soon the fire started. Sollux smiled and nuzzled him "Can you get my clothes for me?"  
CG: Karkat smiled and felt a little better when Rufioh was singing with him and continued a little louder than he had been. Gamzee smiled and nodded. "Yeah but we gotta all up and go back to the cart."  
TA: Rufioh kept singing softly to let Karkat's voice top over his, mostly so that he could hear him more. Sollux rolled his eyes "I'm not putting those back on" he said flatly and pointed to the sodden pants below him.  
CG: Karkat soon was about 3/4ths of the way done with cutting up the beast and smiling as he looked back at Rufioh and continued singing the song. Gamzee chuckled and took his shirt off and then picked Sollux up and laid it over him so nothing would show. "How's that?"  
TA: Rufioh continued too, his voice alot lower than Karkat's. He stoked the fire a bit and watched the embers. Sollux shrugged "I guess, they've seen everything anyway but I'd still like to keep my dignity" he said with a smile.  
CG: Gamzee nodded and then headed back to the camp with Sollux in his arms wrapped in the shirt so nothing would show when they got there. As he got closer he frowned a bit. "Do you hear that Solbro?"  
TA: Sollux strained and waited a bit then smiled "Is that Karkat?"  
CG: Gamzee shrugged and continued walking. "It might be and maybe Rufioh's voice as well?"  
TA: "Holy shit" Sollux whispered and smiled as they got closer. Rufioh closed his eyes and sang a little louder as Karkat did.


	17. Sweet Melody

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's been a while since I've updated, and it's gonna be a little longer, but more is always coming. We hope you enjoy!  
> \- Atlas

CG: Gamzee smiled as they got close to the camp only some bushes separating them now. "They really are good." he said as he listened, he spoke softly so that he wouldn’t disturb them both.  
TA: Sollux nodded and smiled "I've never heard KK sing before" Rufioh smiled wide as he shared the moment with Karkat.  
CG: "Same here. Hell, I didn’t even know that he knew any actual songs." he said softly as he watched the two of them Karkat smiled as he finished cutting up the beast his eyes half closed as he worked.  
TA: Rufioh took the meat and put it all in the pan, shuffling it around. Sollux nodded "They sound really good together"  
CG: Gamzee nodded in agreement. "Should we interrupt now?" he asked as Karkat helped hand the meat to Rufioh, so he wouldn’t have to reach as far.  
TA: "Nah I want to listen a little more" he leaned his head on Gamzee. Rufioh took some of the vegetables they bought in the town and started chopping them.  
CG: Karkat sat on the edge of the cart and continued to sing his eyes closed and his body swaying with the tune while his legs kicked back and forth making him look like a wriggler again. Gamzee nodded at Sollux's words and then silently sat down so they could continue to listen.  
TA: Rufioh looked up at him from where he was on the floor, he gazed up and smiled as he watched him and remembered their childhood. Sollux sat in his lap and tapped along on Gamzee's shoulder to the song.  
CG: Karkat continued to sing until he had gotten through the entire song twice and then finally ended it. "Think you’re ready to go sell the hide or should I do it and then get what we need?" he asked looking over at Rufioh.  
TA: Rufioh nodded "Yeah I'm ready.... you sound amazing Karkat" he smiled.  
CG: Karkat blushed lightly. "I’m sure that I don’t." he said before sliding down off the cart and pulling the hide along with him. "Should we go now?" Gamzee asked Sollux softly.  
TA: Rufioh kissed him softly "Your voice is like a lullaby" he stroked his cheek. Sollux nodded and held onto him.  
CG: Karkat kissed back and then leaned into the hand a little. "Come one and let’s get this to town." he said picking up the hide and starting off to hide how red his face had gotten. Gamzee nodded and slowly stood up.  
TA: Rufioh chuckled and headed off back to the town behind Karkat. Sollux kissed his cheek and purred to Gamzee.  
CG: Karkat walked at a fast pace mumbling a little to himself. Gamzee smiled and purred back as he walked to the cart. "Go grab your clothes and get dressed."  
TA: Rufioh hurried after him and flew in front of him, flying backwards to face him "What's up?" Sollux nodded and scrambled out of Gamzee's arms, he looked around and pulled the clean pants on before taking off his shirt.  
CG: Karkat jumped and stopped as soon as he saw Rufioh in front of him. "Damn it Rufioh don’t do that to me." he said though it was obviously him trying to make up for jumping like he had. Gamzee waited right outside the cart for Sollux.  
TA: Rufioh held his hands up "Sorry dog, didn’t mean to scare you.... you okay?" Sollux peeked out "Is my shirt out there?"  
CG: Karkat nodded. "Yeah....I don’t know I just have been feeling a bit strange these past couple days." he said being honest with Rufioh. "it wasn’t that bad at first, but it had been getting worse and I guess it just makes me a bit moody." he said looking down. Gamzee shrugged a bit and then went to look around. "Yep here it is." he said tossing it to Sollux.  
TA: Rufioh sighed a little and smiled "That’s normal.... your hormones are probably all over the place......if you need to have a row about something or cry to someone then I'm always here" Sollux caught the shirt and put it on "Do I look alright?"  
CG: Karkat smiled and then hugged Rufioh and nuzzled into his chest. "I’m glad that you are here." he said softly. Gamzee looked at Sollux and instantly nodded. "You look great."  
TA: Rufioh lifted him up "I'm glad I found you after all this time" he said honestly. Sollux smiled and jumped out of the cart.

CG: Karkat nuzzled into him and just held onto him taking comfort in the feel of him, the smell of him, and even just the sound of his bloodpusher beating. When Sollux jumped Gamzee moved and caught him and playfully held him up above his head. "I have caught the trouble maker."  
TA: Rufioh held Karkat close, he was so thankful to have his little redblood who he cared about dearly in his arms, safe and well. He was also happy that he was finally able to show him all the love he had built up for him during their early sweeps. Sollux gasped and squirmed playfully "Ah fuck, the big nasty highblood has found me"  
CG: Karkat stayed like that for a few minutes before he shifted. "We need to get to town and back before things start to overcook back at the cart." he said softly as he nuzzled Rufioh's chest and especially looking at the necklace that he had bought him. Gamzee laughed. "Yep and now I get to eat you." he said pulling Sollux down and then playfully nipping at his stomach.  
TA: "Right away" Rufioh smiled and sat Karkat on his hip, flying over to the town again. Sollux cried out between laughs and kicked his legs "Noooo! I never got to tell my matesprit how much of an ass he is"  
CG: Karkat held onto him and kept his head on Rufioh's shoulder as they flew. He was feeling a bit better now though he still had a strange feeling. Gamzee smiled and then continued to nip around Sollux's stomach and chest. "Well then I guess he doesn’t need to know."  
TA: Rufioh nuzzled him and bounced him a little, they got to the town and he let Karkat down gently. Sollux laughed more and squirmed "Gamzee that tickles!!"  
CG: Karkat clung to Rufioh's arm when he was set down before he started to walk again. "See somewhere good to sell it?" he asked. Gamzee laughed and continued with the nips making sure that he held Sollux's arms and legs, so he couldn’t hit or kick him.  
TA: Rufioh petted Karkat's hair and kissed his cheek, then looked around a little "There’s a stall over there that sells moo-beast hide.... they might take it" Sollux laughed harder and fidgeted, "The horrible Highblood is going to have to do more than that to keep me at bay”  
CG: Karkat looked at the stall that Rufioh pointed out and then nodded. "Alright let’s start there then." he said and headed over to it with the hide still over his shoulder. Gamzee laughed and then moved so Sollux's shirt would slide up over his stomach before blowing on the stomach.  
TA: Rufioh follows close after him and kept an eye on him in the crowd. Sollux kicked his legs more and patted at Gamzee's hair frantically "Noooo!" he laughed and cackled.  
CG: Karkat walked up to the stall and as soon as he saw the sales troll he instantly started to bargain for a good price on the hide. Gamzee laughed and kept doing it. Whenever he was able to breathe enough to do it that is.  
TA: Rufioh stood behind Karkat and stared at the sales troll in the threatening way he used to stare down at intruders in his old treehive. Sollux grabbed at Gamzee's horns and used them to shake his head a little.  
CG: Karkat could tell what Rufioh was doing but not once did he say anything about him or even gesture to him in anyway. He knew what he was doing, and, in the end, he was able to talk the sales troll up to the full 50 coin. Once Karkat had the money he turned and headed off to buy the spices. Gamzee laughed more and then just let his mouth slid across Sollux's stomach when he blew on it.  
TA: Rufioh smiled a little when they got the coins for the hide and walked off to join Karkat "That was some pretty good dealing, my boy" he ruffled his hair. Sollux just laughed more and patted at his head again "Ga-Gamzee, Hahaaa!"  
CG: Karkat smiled. "You learn quite a bit when dealing with highbloods." he said smiling as he walked. "I don’t care what we get so long as we have garlic as well."  
TA: Rufioh shrugged "I guess so.... I usually use pepper and a lot of salt, maybe some chive.... all depends on what they’ve got"  
CG: Karkat nodded at his words. "We should be able to get all of that." he said and then headed off towards a stall that was selling herbs.  
TA: Rufioh walked with him to the stall and looked at it for a moment before picking up some of the herbs.  
CG: Karkat grabbed a good bit of garlic, probably more than they would need but he wanted some more for other meals.  
TA: Rufioh paid for the herbs and bundled them up in his arms "Ready?"  
CG: Karkat nodded "Yep and then we make a good stew." he said and started back quickly.  
TA: "I hope you like it after all this time.... when was the last time you had it again?" Rufioh asked as he walked. Sollux squirmed and giggled "I'm not a trouble maker! I swear!"  
CG: Karkat thought "I think it was about a month or two before I was taken." he said thoughtfully. Gamzee grinned. "Yes, you are, and you know it."  
TA: "Well, I'll make it for you whenever you want from now on" Rufioh smiled. Sollux smirked "Prove it!"  
CG: Karkat smiled. "Careful or you won’t stop eating that for a few weeks or so." he said smiling. "You always cause trouble Sol." he said and then kissed him.  
TA: Rufioh chuckled "I really wouldn't mind that, you'll know as well as I do......if a Highblood doesn't like you, they'll feed you crappy food......that's why I take advantage of the luxuries we can get now" he smiled. Sollux kissed back "Only because of you"  
CG: Karkat nodded at that. "That is very true. Unless they want to show you off and make it seem like you are perfect." he said "So you learn to make friends with the chef." he said with a smile. Gamzee chuckled. "So, it is still your fault."  
TA: Rufioh groaned a bit "Well, Mindfang made a point of only feeding me this gross slop stuff....../apparently/ it was the perfect concoction of everything needed to keep me going and able to lift and move stuff.... I was the only employee she ever fed that to though" he shrugged "Making friends with the chef would have been a good plan though." Sollux shook his head "I'm not your wriggler yknow, so you can put me down now"  
CG: "Well for me it was either shit that would just barely keep me alive, starvation if I didn’t behave good enough or make friends with the chef who would sneak food to me." he said smiling "I wish I could have gotten him out too. He was a kind troll." he said. Gamzee shook his head. "Nope you are I are gonna go for a walk and I am going to carry you all the way."  
TA: Rufioh shrugged "If he's a chef then he'll be kept alive.... maybe one day he will get out" Sollux pouted but then laughed "Fine, have it your way"  
CG: Karkat nodded. "I wouldn’t say that he wouldn’t be culled just because he is a chef. Grand Highblood has culled some for burning food when he had guests." Karkat shivered at the memory. Gamzee smiled and kissed him again before he headed off.  
TA: "Well, let’s hope he's a good chef...." was all that Rufioh could say to console him, he didn’t want to sugar-coat the truth to Karkat as he knew there would be no point. Sollux shifted so that he could hold onto Gamzee's shoulders "Where are we going?"  
CG: Karkat nodded. "I know he is good and he has a good staff under him. He watches and inspects everything that goes out to make sure that everything is perfect." he said and then moved to lean against Rufioh a little. Gamzee shrugged a bit at Sollux's words. "No idea. But we will find out when we get there."  
TA: Rufioh put his arm around Karkat as they walked and nodded "He'll be fine then" They soon got to the cart again and Rufioh plonked the herbs down. Sollux rolled his eyes "How can you be so carefree?"  
CG: Karkat went and sat next to him. "I also remembered the bit of cooking that you showed me when I was young. I wound up cooking a bit for Sollux after he found me." he said a bit proud of himself and trying to get off the subject of the chef. Gamzee smiled "Because I all up and got you with me Solbro."  
TA: "Hey, check you out kid! Master chef in the making.... did he like it?" Rufioh started to dice some of the herbs. Sollux kissed his cheek "Well, I guess it’s the same with you, at least I know there’s nothing I can do to accidentally hurt you"  
CG: Karkat nodded "Yeah though he wasn’t used to eating much of anything. Hell, he would go days without eating on his own choice so the meat I made him didn’t settle well with how much it was and how fast he devoured it." Gamzee smiled. "Nope not a single thing." he said happily and then nuzzled Sollux's head.  
TA: "No wonder he's so skinny if he doesn’t eat for days.... if there’s any stew left over, make sure he gets it instead of Gamzee" Rufioh smiled and chucked everything into the pot. Sollux nuzzled back "Gamzee, you know how earlier, when I was running away after I hurt Karkat, and I told you I had started hearing voices and shit?"  
CG: Karkat laughed a bit. "Don’t worry I have been making sure that he eats more, and I am sure Gamzee has as well." he said or at least he hoped that he would. Gamzee tilted his head a bit at Sollux's question but nodded. "Yeah what about it Solbro?"  
TA: Rufioh nodded and poured in the water to the stew before putting the pot onto the fire to cook more. Sollux blushed a little "Well, the voices that I hear, they really like you. In fact, they make a point of nagging it to me all the time, so hopefully now that I’ve told you that they can at least shut up about one thing" He smirked.  
CG: Karkat smiled especially when he smells of the stew started to really get stronger. He couldn’t wait for it all. Gamzee looked a bit confused. "They like me?" He had never dealt with voices like Sollux's before and his only told him to murder and nothing else, so he didn’t really understand.  
TA: Rufioh stirred it a bit with the knife and then laid back with his hands tucked behind his head. "That should take about 20 minutes." Sollux nodded "They want me to stay with you, they say that I have to"  
CG: Karkat moved and nuzzled up against Rufioh and then nodded. "I hope it’s a fast twenty minutes." he said smiling. Gamzee chuckled a bit. "Well then I like them though I wouldn’t say that you have to stay with me."  
TA: Rufioh smiled when he felt Karkat nuzzle him "Me too, mutants gotta eat!" he chuckled and patted his stomach "Man, Kankri hate me using that word" Sollux shrugged "They keep saying that bad things will happen if you're not around, although I get the feeling they are talking to each other and not to me specifically. Anyway, it’s not like I’m going anywhere anytime soon"  
CG: Karkat just chuckled. "He just hates to admit that that is what he is. I learned to accept it over time really." After all, for a long time that had practically been like his name for a long time. Mutant. Freak. Slave. And never his name not for a long time. Gamzee looked a bit curious. "Any idea what kind of bad thing they might be talking about?"  
.  
TA: Rufioh nodded "He thinks its derogatory, he also stopped me swearing and cussing because it was 'impolite'" Rufioh groaned. Sollux thought for a moment "He is only here because of the mutant but the voodoo master is keeping him alive. He has to stay or else his body will not belong to him anymore and he will be freed." Sollux repeated what his voices had been saying for the past few days, he shrugged "They don’t address me ever, it’s like they are having a conversation amongst themselves.  
TA: "  
CG: Karkat laughed. "Then he really wouldn’t have liked me. I answer things like that with more cusses." he said laughing since it was something that he had always done. Gamzee thought about what Sollux said though it didn’t make sense to him. "How would your body not belong to you just because I am not here?" he asked really just confused all together.  
TA: Rufioh chuckled "Yeah, he would probably have tried training it out of you like he did with me.... but I can’t see it working on you" he smirked. Sollux sighed and shrugged "I dunno, I think they mean that if you aren’t here to protect me and keep me sane then someone else will be in control of me other than myself."  
CG: Karkat laughed. "Hell, I would have started to do it just because it pissed him off." Karkat said laughing a bit as he did. Gamzee thought about what Sollux said and then gave a small nod. "I guess that would make sense and my best guess would be that it would be the Empress who controlled you."  
TA: Rufioh laughed "He would have gotten so mad" He sat up a little to stir the stew. Sollux nodded slowly "Yeah, they say other things too but that’s the main one at the minute."  
CG: Karkat smiled. "Which you know would have only made me do it more." he said with a smile. He had always been one to do things to purposefully piss someone off. Gamzee nodded. "Well we will figure it all out together and I can work on getting you something to help with the headaches there should be a place in the next town that we stop at."  
TA: Rufioh nodded and lay back down again and putting an arm around Karkat. "He isn’t all bad......but he needs to chill" Rufioh said. Sollux nodded thankfully "The headaches are getting really fucking annoying, I can’t wait for my psiioniics to calm down, if they ever do"  
CG: Karkat nodded in agreement. "Yeah that’s for sure. He won’t get anywhere when he is that uptight." he said nuzzling into Rufioh again. "They should. I have heard that they are normally like that when psiioniics are your age but once you get a bit older they settle down and you shouldn’t have any problems."  
TA: Rufioh nuzzled back but it was a little difficult with his horns in the way. "He means well" Sollux sighed "I hope so, if not, I'm fucked"  
CG: "I know he does and that is the only reason I didn’t hit him harder." Karkat said smiling a bit. "If they don’t then I am sure I know of someone who could make something that would suppress them."  
TA: Rufioh shook his head, chuckling "Karkat Vantas, you are terrible" Sollux shrugged "I might need to use them someday"  
CG: Karkat smiled wide. "It’s your fault. I learned most of it from you after all." he said and then kissed Rufioh's cheek. "But it was also the stuff that you taught me that helped me survive what I went through." He said. "I know and trust me he can make it, so you can use them whenever you want."  
TA: Rufioh accepted the kiss and then smiled "See....I'm not all bad. Thinking of you kept me going sometimes.... when my boss was bein particularly horrible and I needed something to take my mind off her" Sollux nodded "That would be good, is this person trustworthy?"  
CG: Karkat smiled. "I would think of you and Crabdad. You when I needed strength to fight back and Crabdad when I needed strength to not just give up on everything then and there." he said honestly. Gamzee nodded. "Very, especially if you are a highblood."  
TA: "Well I'm glad I was somewhat useful" Rufioh smirked "If I had known you were in there.... I would have gotten away from my boss a whole lot earlier and found you" Sollux thought about it "I guess it wouldn’t be too bad"  
CG: "There was no way that you would have been able to know. The traders hide me for a while before they put me up for sale so that it would be impossible to track me." Gamzee nodded. "You can meet him and then tell me what you think of him before we decide to ask him for anything.  
TA: Rufioh nodded slowly "Do you think my boss knew? She was often talking about Dualscar" Sollux nodded "Yeah alright, it would just be nice to calm it down a little " he shrugged.  
CG: Karkat thought for a moment about what he had learned when it came to who was who and who did what. "She did know about me. Though I doubt that she knew about the fact that we know each other." Karkat said a bit thoughtfully. Gamzee nodded at his words. "Alright then that is what we will do." he said and kissed his cheek.  
TA: "That’s probably a good thing.... like I said before......she didn’t exactly like my attitude.... nor my ancestor, so it was probably good that she didn’t have something to use against either of us" Rufioh said and then sat up. Sollux nuzzled him "Where are we now?"  
CG: Karkat nodded. "Yeah and if I remember right she wasn’t exactly a fun troll to be around. Or rather it wasn’t fun to be around Dualscar when she was there." he said with a shiver. He was sure he was thinking about the right troll though part of him hoped that he wasn’t. Gamzee smiled. "In the woods." he said knowing that it was the obvious statement that anyone would be able to see.  
TA: Rufioh nodded and stirred the stew "She's awful, of course I didn’t think that when she was controlling me but she's really horrible......I really wish I never worked for her, she stopped paying me after a couple weeks anyway" Rufioh said. Sollux rolled his eyes "Ten bonus points to Gamzee Makara for observation skills."  
CG: Karkat gave a small, sad smile. "I wish that there had been a way to get you off of her ship faster." Gamzee laughed at Sollux's words. "Do I get more if I say that we are walking through shrubs?" he asked playfully.  
TA: "To be honest with you.... I probably wouldn't have listened. She made me feel so flushed for her that I'd do anything for her......I followed her like a bark-beast and she loved it, so she kept doing it until my body gave up. At that time, I would never have left her." Rufioh said, a clear sad tone in his voice. Sollux smirked "Aaaaand there goes another five points, you’re raking them in today sir" he said in his best showman voice.  
CG: Karkat nodded. "I can understand that. Grand Highblood often enjoyed playing mind games. Especially when he and Dualscar were having a more \\\private// party." Karkat said with a shiver. Gamzee laughed and then kissed Sollux. "We are heading out to where I am fairly sure there is a lake that we can relax in for a while."  
TA: "Stupid Highbloods" Rufioh muttered under his breath "I'd say I'd like to cull them all but......I still don’t think I could disobey my boss like that" he said with a faint laugh. Sollux nodded "Sure, maybe the water will clear my head a little"  
CG: Karkat smiled a bit. "Well if it ever came down to that I would do everything in my power to make sure that everything was alright." Gamzee nodded. "I thought that it might but if it doesn’t then it will still be nice to swim a little."  
TA: Rufioh smiled "Thanks....I would do everything I could too" he said, although he knew full well that if he were to be faced with Mindfang again, he'd feel too guilty and be too scared to not follow orders. Sollux nodded "There’s nothing bad in the water, right?" he felt a little embarrassed asking.  
CG: Karkat smiled though he could sense that it wasn’t quite the full truth of what would happen, but it still felt good to hear it. "Flushed for you." he said and then kissed him. Gamzee smiled and shook his head. "No not in place like this."  
TA: Rufioh kissed back "Flushed for you too" he smiled and then brought the pan off the fire. Sollux smiled happily and cuddled Gamzee, finally feeling safe.  
CG: Karkat smiled and then moved back to the cart so he could get some bowls and spoons out, so they could eat. "I can’t wait to have this again." Gamzee held Sollux close and nuzzled him softly and happily. It was about another three or so minutes before they exited the trees and brush and came upon a clear place of grass and in the centre was a large lake.


	18. You're Calling Me, and I'm Coming Home

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The song Rufioh sings is Caledonia, a Scottish song all about loving where you came from. It's a song we used to sing in our Primary School and its always on at dances and stuff, idk, I imagined Rufioh singing it along with the others on the boat while working, longing for a better life than what they've got, and longing to go home.   
> -Atlas

TA: Rufioh dished out the stew in the bowls when Karkat brought them through and rubbed his hands together happily "I hope this is good" Sollux beamed "Gamzee this is beautiful!"  
CG: Karkat smiled. "I am sure that it is as great as it was when we were younger." he said smiling at him as he took his bowl. "Thank you for making it for me again." Gamzee smiled "I agree." he said happily.  
TA: "It’s alright, I hope it’s as good as you remember" Rufioh blew on his spoonful a bit to cool it before eating it and smiling wide. Sollux nodded and tried to clamber down from Gamzee's arms.  
CG: Karkat smiled and ate his bit without blowing on it at all. Thanks to his abnormally high temperature it was hard to burn him and for him to feel it. As soon as the flavours hit his tongue he smiled and even gave a bit of a purr. "This is even better than I remember." he said happily. Gamzee shifted and set Sollux down when he wanted to get down.  
TA: Rufioh grinned and nodded "I'm glad you like it" he moved so that he was sitting beside Karkat with his arm around him and continued to eat the stew. Sollux took Gamzee's hand and started running, dragging him behind and giggling.  
CG: Karkat leaned against Rufioh and nuzzled into him happily as he continued to eat continuing to purr with every bite. Gamze followed after Sollux laughing a little and keeping up easily.  
TA: Rufioh held him close and smiled as he saw how happy Karkat was, "You enjoying that, my boy?" Rufioh smiled at him. Sollux let go of Gamzee's hand briefly to start taking off his own shirt.  
CG: Karkat smiled. "Do remember that I was stuck with not much with Grand Highblood and then even less and very crappy food with Dualscar and then I had to deal with food that really wasn’t settling at all." he said and nuzzled into him. Gamzee smiled and followed suit and quickly removed his shirt.  
TA: Rufioh smirked "Well, I'll be feeding you well from now on.... but you might get bored of stew" he chuckled. Sollux threw his shirt down and shuffled off his pants, he ran to the edge of the lake quickly but then skidded to a stop when he came to the water's ledge through fear.  
CG: "I highly doubt that I would get bored of this stuff." he said smiling and really liked the thought of Rufioh cooking for him since he was more likely to listen to what he wanted and was craving at the moment. Gamzee got rid of his own clothes and instead of stopping by Sollux he ran up and quickly lifted him into his arms and continued into the water.  
TA: Rufioh smiled and ate up his stew, it was good to finally have a warm meal in him, since the last one was back in his times in the camp. Rufioh leaned over to one if the sacs and pulled out a bread roll, he tore it in two pieces then handed one to Karkat "Dip this into the liquid" he smiled. Sollux yelled loudly as he was surprised by Gamzee, he gripped onto him and managed to gasp and hold a breath before being plunged in.  
CG: Karkat happily took the half role and did exactly as he was instructed. He still had some stuff in it that wasn’t just the liquid, but he didn’t care he was perfectly happy with going back and forth between the two things. Gamzee didn’t stay under the water long and came up within just a few seconds. And once he was up he smiled at Sollux.  
TA: Rufioh smiled as he watched him, and he mopped up the liquid at the bottom of his bowl with the bread. He leaned his head down on Karkat's shoulder and kissed his cheek. Sollux spat up some water and the spluttered a little, he clung to Gamzee's shoulders and dug his claws in "GAMZEE"  
CG: Karkat smiled and turned his head and nuzzled into him happily as he soon finished up his food as well. "It’s nice to have this stuff again." He said happily. Gamzee smiled innocently at Sollux. "Yeah Solbro?" He asked barely even feeling the claws.  
TA: Rufioh nodded "It's nice to have moments like this with you again" he said and closed his eyes as he held Karkat close to his chest. Sollux growled and then sighed when he saw Gamzee's innocent eyes and smile. "Nothing, you just took me by surprise"  
CG: Karkat smiled and nodded at Rufioh's words. "Yeah it is. Though now we don’t have to worry about you being culled by a protective lusus." he said softly Gamzee smiled and then kissed Sollux's cheek. "Sorry Solbro." he said smiling as he slowly moved around the water.  
TA: Rufioh chuckled and nodded "Yeah, it’s a shame I couldn’t have sneaked you round to mine more often, Tinkerbull loved you" he smiled. Sollux held onto Gamzee as he moved around and hugged him tightly.  
CG: Karkat laughed a bit and nodded. "Yeah I got away with a lot with your lusus." he said happily at the memories of that. Gamzee kept Sollux in his arms happily as he moved around slowly.  
TA: Rufioh nodded "He was a slacker, like me....in fact, that’s probably where I got it from" he laughed. Sollux hummed and closed his eyes, enjoying the feeling of the water and Gamzee around him.  
CG: Karkat laughed. "Yeah but he was nice and was always quick to make sure that we were alright." he said smiling. Gamzee soon tilted his head back a bit and got his hair wet.  
TA: Rufioh nodded and smiled, but soon his expression saddened "When I came back from Mindfang, I couldn’t find him" He held Karkat close as he recalled the memory. Sollux nuzzled him and smiled "The water is warm, it’s nice"  
CG: Karkat's smile instantly fell. "I’m sure that he is alright. Who knows maybe he took in another grub." he said knowing that it was something that happened every now and then. Gamzee nodded. "Yeah and very relaxing."  
TA: Rufioh smiled "I hope so, I was getting a little old for him.... just wish I could have said goodbye" Sollux nodded and purred gently, then used his hand over Gamzee's shoulder to swish around in the water a bit.  
CG: Karkat nodded and kissed Rufioh's cheek. "I know but at least he would be happy with a new grub." he said softly. Gamzee smiled and moved so that Sollux could do what he wanted while he himself kept the two of them afloat.  
TA: Rufioh sighed a little "Probably letting some poor sucker get stuck in a tree like I always did before I was strong enough to fly" Sollux moved so that he could use both hands to paddle in the water.  
CG: Karkat laughed at that a bit. "I could honestly see you doing that." He said happily as he nuzzled into him, Gamzee smiled and then shifted once again so that he wasn’t as under Sollux but was still supporting him.  
TA: "Yeah, and you did. Remember when you were younger? Wouldn’t stop bugging me and throwing stones “Rufioh tutted with a smile. Sollux smiled and enjoyed the water, he hadn’t grown up with much around him and although he was a little scared, it was fun to play around in.  
CG: Karkat thought for a moment. "I thought you were able to fly back then." he said trying to remember if he had seen Rufioh fly at that time or not. He wasn’t sure. Gamzee kept his arms under Sollux as he played and felt like he was doing this with a wriggler.  
TA: Rufioh shook his head and chuckled "Not at the beginning....it really hurt too!" Sollux giggled a little and blew bubbles in the water then laughed happily.  
CG: Karkat gave a small smile. "Sorry." he said softly as he moved to kiss Rufioh. "I guess I kinda figured that you would be able to just because you had the wings." Gamzee chuckled as he watched Sollux. "You are just like a wriggler." he said playfully.  
TA: Rufioh shook his head "It's alright, a lot of trolls thought that......My friend Horuss used to think I couldn’t just because I never did it in front of him." he looked at Karkat with a smile "The guy thought my wings were broken for like...a sweep" Sollux smiled and shrugged "I'm not near water a lot" he blew bubbles in the water again and then started laughing so much he couldn’t do it anymore.  
CG: Karkat nodded. "So, was Horuss a troll that lived around where we did? Or did you just meet him after you left to go work?" he asked curiously since he himself didn’t remember very much when it came to the trolls that he met or knew from back then. Gamze laughed along with Sollux and then kissed him "You are so cute sometimes Solbro."  
TA: "I met him once I left work, I was living in the camp mostly, but he was too scared to come in....since he was a blueblood and didn’t want to cause any distress, so we met up a lot in the woods" Rufioh said. Sollux kissed back and then shook his head "I'm really not, I'm just stupid when it comes to these things"  
CG: Karkat nodded at that. "Were or are you two in a quadrant at all?" he asked curiously. Not that he was jealous he just wanted to know what all went on with Rufioh while he was gone. "No Solbro you are pretty fucking cute." he said and kissed his nose.  
TA: Rufioh shrugged "I wanted him to be my moirail, I was seriously horns over heals pale for him.... but I think he wants more. I can’t say for sure, but I've had a feeling for a while that he does. I was gonna talk to him about it but then I couldn’t find him." Sollux shook his head and splashed Gamzee a little.  
CG: Karkat frowned a bit. "Do you have any idea where he might have gone?" he asked curiously after all it wasn’t uncommon for trolls to wonder off like that for little to no reason at all. Gamzee smiled and then pulled Sollux under the water for a second before bringing him back up.  
TA: Rufioh shrugged "He said he was going to get me a little something for my wriggling day, I tried to tell him that I wanted to talk about something serious, but he wouldn’t listen and just left.... then I started looking for him a few days later" Rufioh said. Sollux made a small noise as he was ducked under the water and held onto Gamzee tightly, when they came up Sollux spat out the water from his mouth onto Gamzee's face.  
CG: Karkat frowned a little. "I’m sure he is alright. For all we know it just took a bit longer to get whatever it is that he wanted to get you.... Well he will probably follow the camp until he finds out you aren’t there. " Gamzee laughed at Sollux's reaction and turned his head away so the water wouldn’t get in his eyes or anything.  
TA: Rufioh sighed "But that’s the thing, he won’t find me. And I'll never get to tell him how I feel or explain things to him......It makes me feel sick when I worry about him" Rufioh looked down. Sollux giggled and leaned on him.  
CG: Karkat sighed. "I am sure that we could find him if we tried to look for him. We might be able to even send a message to someone in the camp, so they could keep an eye out for him." Karkat said smiling a little. Gamzee laughed and nuzzled into him before he kissed him lovingly.  
TA: Rufioh nodded "I just hope he's alright and doesn’t do anything stupid" Sollux kissed back and then swooshed up water to Gamzee, enough to completely soak his hair.  
CG: Karkat smiled. "I’m sure that no one who has lived as long as you would purposefully do something stupid." he said assuming that Horuss was around Rufioh's age. Gamzee laughed once the water was out of his face most of the way. "You are such a stinker sometimes you know that."  
TA: "Yeah, he's older than me too so you'd hope so. He's just kinda......obsessed? I care for him, I really do but sometimes he can be a bit smothering and full on" Rufioh shrugged. Sollux gasped and turned his head away dramatically "I don’t know what you mean!"  
CG: Karkat tilted his head a little. "Obsessed with what though?" he asked trying to understand the troll that Rufioh was describing more. "You’re such a liar Solbro." He said and then kissed his neck with a grin on his face.  
TA: Rufioh thought about what the best way was to put it "Obsessed with me. Or at least.... obsessed with the idea of loving me" Sollux shook him off and hid a smile "Nope. No kisses until you apologize"  
CG: Karkat looked a bit confused by that. "obsessed with the idea of loving you?" he asked not quite sure how that would be. Gamzee rolled his eyes and one of his hands went down to Sollux's ass. "I don’t think I know how."  
TA: Rufioh nodded "Yeah, I’m not sure if he liked me because of me, or because I'm the only one who shows him any affection and he just wants to love someone back." Sollux smirked and kicked away from his hand "Try again"  
CG: Karkat thought about that for a moment. "I guess that makes a bit more sense." he said as he closed his eyes relaxing against Rufioh. Gamzee pulled Sollux close and held him there so he wouldn’t be able to get away.  
TA: Rufioh held him and kissed his head gently "Karkat? Please don’t leave me like he did" Sollux chuckled and shook his head "Apologize"  
CG: Karkat opened his eyes at his words and then he turned and kissed Rufioh. "I am never going to willingly leave you." he said softly. "I don’t think I want to."  
TA: Rufioh smiled a little, but still tainted with sadness for the loss of Horuss and his friendship, he hugged Karkat tightly. Sollux shrugged and then stayed motionless "No more affection for you until you do"  
CG: Karkat hugged him back lovingly and wished that he could find the troll so that Rufioh could be happy. Gamzee chuckled a bit and rolled his eyes. "I have nothing to apologize for."  
TA: Rufioh rocked Karkat gently, for a moment he imagined it was Horuss and that they had found each other again and he was finally able to comfort him, but that only made Rufioh more upset. Sollux smirked "You called me a stinker and a liar, and that kind of language will not be tolerated in this relationship" Sollux crossed his arms, clearly joking.  
CG: Karkat nuzzled into him and started to play with Rufioh's hair trying to make him feel better in a way that he knew wasn’t right for their quadrant, but he didn’t care. Gamzee laughed. "You have all up and called me the same several times Solbro not to mention all up and accusing me on many things."  
TA: Rufioh purred a little and held him close, he knew that what Karkat was doing was what a moirail should do, and what Horuss would have done if Rufioh were to have had the chance to talk with him. He burrowed his face in Karkat's neck and let a few tears slip out. Sollux thought about it and shrugged "I guess so, but two wrongs and all that shit" he kissed Gamzee quickly.  
CG: Karkat purred back at Rufioh and continued to try and comfort him as best as he could and as best as he knew how to. Gamzee chuckled. "Maybe but two lefts make do make a right." he said teasingly.  
TA: Rufioh cried softly into his shoulder and his own shoulders shook a little as he clung onto Karkat. It wasn’t often that he weakly broke down like this and he hated it. Sollux rolled his eyes "That doesn’t even sound plausible"  
CG: Karkat nuzzled him and every now and then moved to kiss his cheek and wipe away a couple tears from Rufioh's face. Gamzee chuckled a bit. "Maybe but it is something else that is said a lot."  
TA: Rufioh sniffed and after a few minutes he sat up and wiped away his tears quickly, huffing a breath. "I'm alright...." he said quietly. Sollux smirked "Whatever you say, Gamzee" then kissed his cheek softly.  
CG: Karkat gave a soft smile and cupped his cheek. "I will always be here for you Rufioh and someday I am sure you will see him again." he said trying to be positive. Gamzee smiled and then kissed Sollux on the lips.  
TA: Rufioh nodded and kissed him gently "I hope so" Sollux kissed back and still held onto him.  
CG: Karkat kissed him back and smiled giving a small nod. Gamzee held Sollux close and kept both of their heads above water.  
TA: Rufioh pulled away slightly and smiled "We should tidy up before the other two get back" he said softly. Sollux hummed into the kiss and stroked Gamzee's wet hair.  
CG: Karkat gave a small nod at his words. "Yeah I guess we should. And then I can make sure that Sollux gets a little of the stew when we are driving." he said smiling. Gamzee purred into the kiss happily and moved closer to where his feet could actually touch.  
TA: "I'm sure he'd love that” Rufioh smiled and stood up, taking Karkat with him. Sollux still wasn’t able to reach the ground because of how much shorter he was to Gamzee, so he still has to cling to him.  
CG: Karkat smiled and went with Rufioh happily and nuzzled into him a little as they went. Gamzee smiled and started to walk until he was at a rock that he could easily sit on.  
TA: Rufioh put him down gently and went to get some water to clean the bowls and plates. Sollux sat on Gamzee's lap and snuggled into him, looking across at the lake.  
CG: Karkat watched as Rufioh went and then looked out towards the woods silently it was a peaceful night. Gamzee smiled and just held him. "I think that there are lots of places like this one where we are goin."  
TA: Rufioh came back out with the water and dipped the bowls into the crate he carried it in. Sollux smiled "I can’t wait, this place is starting to sound really good"  
CG: Karkat moved and sat close to where he was working. Gamzee nodded and kissed his cheek. "Yeah I can’t wait to get there as well."  
TA: Rufioh whistled as he scrubbed the bowls clean. Sollux smiled and leaned on him "And it’s totally safe, right?"  
CG: Karkat smiled trying to see if he could figure out the tune that Rufioh was whistling or if it was just nothing. Gamzee looked at him. "There is no such thing Solbro. But it is safer than here that’s for sure."  
TA: Rufioh smiled and kept going, it was a song he was taught by one of the other employees on Mindfang’s ship. Sollux nodded, understanding "Just as long as you and KK and the grub are as safe as possible, I'll be fine"  
CG: Karkat realized that it was a song that he had never heard before. "Where did you learn that song?" he asked since he liked the tune. Gamzee nodded. "I am sure that they will be fine. We all will be."  
TA: "At my job, a little rust blood taught me.... that kid never stopped singing it" Rufioh smiled. Sollux nodded and closed his eyes.  
CG: Karkat smiled. "Are there words to it at all?" he asked with a tilted head. Gamzee smiled and continued to hold him close. "We should probably get out soon."  
TA: Rufioh smiled and nodded, he cleared his throat a little and started to sing softly and lowly "I don’t know, if you can see...the changes that have come over me~ in these last few days, I've been afraid, that I might drift away~" Sollux nodded "Alright, it’s starting to get a little dark anyway"  
CG: Karkat smiled and listened to the song and the other singing it. It was a nice song and he enjoyed hearing it all. Gamzee smiled and nodded. "Yeah and we need to get moving again soon before it gets too late." He said and then stood up, so he could get out of the water.  
TA: Rufioh kept singing and washing up the dishes, putting them to the side once he was done. Sollux stood up and hopped out of the water, he shook himself off and messed with his hair.  
CG: Karkat grabbed a towel and started to dry the dishes that were finished being washed. Gamzee went over to his clothes and slipped his pants on before grabbing his shirt.  
TA: "Let me tell you that I love you....and I think about you all the time~" Rufioh sang sweetly into Karkat's ear. Sollux took Gamzee's shirt before he could put it on and grinned at him.  
CG: Karkat smiled at the words and turned to kiss his cheek softly as he continued to work. Gamzee raised an eyebrow at him. "Somethin wrong Solbro?"  
TA: Rufioh smiled and tipped out the water onto the grass, then pulled Karkat close as he finished the song. Sollux dragged on the shirt and stood proudly in it, it was baggy and way too big for him, but more than anything, it smelt like Gamzee and that was all that mattered for Sollux.  
CG: Karkat smiled and leaned against Rufioh and as soon as the song was finished he kissed him happily. Gamzee grinned and chuckled at the sight of his shirt on Sollux. "Looks like it’s a dress on ya Solbro." he said still laughing.  
TA: Rufioh stroked Karkat's hair and kissed back, letting his wings flutter happily. Sollux laughed and twirled in it "I guess that means I don’t have to wear pants then" he raised an eyebrow to him.  
CG: Karkat purred into the kiss and give a small chuckle when he heard the sound of Rufioh's wings fluttering. Gamzee smirked a bit. "I don’t care especially if you all up and decide to ride upfront with me for a while." he said teasingly as he pulled Sollux close to himself.  
TA: Rufioh smiled and chuckled too "See....I have a tell-tale sign of when I'm happy..." Sollux smiled and purred to him.  
CG: Karkat smiled a bit. "I have known that for a long time. You know, that right?" he said smiling. Gamzee smiled and kissed him. "So, you gonna all up and ride with me?"  
TA: Rufioh rolled his eyes "And here I was thinking I could hide it, my boy" he smirked. Sollux shrugged "Dunno, I might, I might not"  
CG: Karkat smiled. "Rufioh your wings have done that for almost as long as I have known you." he said rolling his eyes a bit. Gamzee laughed. "Well then maybe I will just have to do all I can to convince ya."  
TA: Rufioh chuckled and shook his head "Nothin gets past you huh?" Sollux shrugged again "Maybe...." he smiled and kissed him.  
CG: "Not much, especially when you are still doing it." he said happily as he held onto him happily. Gamzee smiled and kissed him deeply and then ran his hand down Sollux's back and to the bottom of the shirt.  
TA: Rufioh blushed a tiny bit and let his wings flutter and beat gently. Sollux shivered and kissed back, looping his arms over Gamzee's shoulders.


	19. On the Road

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> tw; this chapter contains smut

CG: Karkat smiled and then shifted and then pulled him into another kiss. "Besides I always thought that it was cute when your wings do that." Gamzee smiled and rubbed Sollux's ass before pulling back. "We have to go back to the cart."  
TA: Rufioh blushed a little more and he chuckled "Shut up kid" he said with a laugh. Sollux whined as Gamzee pulled away, mewling a bit at the loss of contact "Fine..."  
CG: Karkat smiled. "Why? You can’t make me now can you." He said teasingly. Gamzee smiled and picked Sollux up and started back keeping a hand right on Sollux's ass teasingly.  
TA: Rufioh smirked "Hm, don’t tempt me" he leaned in and kissed him slowly and lovingly. Sollux smiled and shifted a little to let his ass rub gently against Gamzee's hand.  
CG: Karkat chuckled before kissing back happily. He purred into the kiss and played with Rufioh's hair. Gamzee chuckled at Sollux's actions. "So, you gonna ride with me Solbro?" he said gently brushing a couple fingers against Sollux's nook.  
TA: Rufioh purred too and licked across Karkat's bottom lip, holding him close. Sollux purrs and leans on him "I guess so" he smiled and chuckled a bit.  
CG: Karkat smiled and opened his mouth a little more happily. Gamzee smiled at the answer and picked up the pace a little so they could get back to the cart faster.  
TA: Rufioh smiled and slipped his tongue into Karkat's mouth, stroking down his back. Sollux held onto him and kissed his neck gently.  
CG: Karkat's purr grew louder as he tangled his tongue with Rufioh's being careful that he didn’t bite him at all. Gamzee smiled and felt like going even faster with each kiss.  
TA: Rufioh let his tongue rub against Karkat's and he smiled into the kiss. Sollux then scraped Gamzee's skin with his teeth/  
CG: Karkat smiled as well and gave a small tug at Rufioh's hair but not hard enough to hurt at all. Gamzee shivered. "You keep that up and we aint makin it back to the cart Solbro."  
TA: Rufioh smiled and traced Karkat's spine with his claws, not enough to hurt him in any way. Sollux smirked "You still need to drive y'know?"  
CG: Karkat shivered at the feeling of the claws down his spine. He moved one of his hands up higher and rubbed at the base of Rufioh's horn. Gamzee smirked back. "Maybe but I can drive and have some fun at the same time."  
TA: Rufioh gave a surprised moan and nuzzled into his hand, using his own hands to hold and caress Karkat's hips. Sollux rolled his eyes "Are you that dedicated?" he asked with a small smile.  
CG: Karkat smiled and continued to rub the horn liking to hear Rufioh's moan. Gamzee smiled at Sollux's words. "Of course, I am." he said happily and kissed him as he got close to where the cart.  
TA: Rufioh moaned again and closed his eyes, dragging Karkat back into a heated kiss. Sollux nipped at Gamzee's neck and smiled.  
CG: Karkat kissed back instantly. Gamzee chuckled and then laughed louder when he saw Rufioh and Karkat. "Looks like someone else has similar ideas."  
TA: Sollux sniggered and shook his head. "If the walls of this cart could speak, holy fuck we'd be in trouble." he smirked. Rufioh heard then laughing and pulled away from Karkat, growling a little at Gamzee.  
CG: Gamzee nodded at Sollux's words and then ignored the growl at Rufioh. "Sorry to interrupt your party but all up and got to get goin." He said and then headed over. "Solbro is drivin with me you two get to enjoy yourselves in the back" He said and Karkat hid himself behind Rufioh sure that his face was brighter than the sun at this point.  
TA: Rufioh held Karkat and kissed his head before picking him up and sneering at Sollux and Gamzee, Sollux just flipped him off and growled before snugging back to Gamzee.  
CG: Karkat held onto Rufioh when he was picked up and kept his face hidden from view. Gamzee just started to walk up to the front of the cart with Sollux. He grabbed a blanket from inside the cart before continuing on. He put it under where Sollux would be sitting then put him up there.  
TA: Rufioh brought his mate into the back of the cart and closed it behind them, he let Karkat down. Sollux sat on the blanket and waited for Gamzee to sit down.  
CG: Karkat waited until the cart was closed before he pulled Rufioh over to him. Gamzee moved around and then climbed up into the cart. "Ready?" he asked Sollux as he gathered up the reigns.  
TA: Rufioh kissed him and unbuttoned his own shirt, slowly sliding it off. Sollux purred happily and laid his head down on Gamzee's lap.  
CG: Karkat kissed back and as soon as Rufioh's shirt was off his hands were feeling Rufioh's chest, smiling as he did. Gamzee instantly ran his fingers through Sollux's hair.  
TA: Rufioh purred into the kiss and tugged at Karkat's shirt, still holding his precious redblood in his arms. Sollux closed his eyes and nuzzled into his lap.  
CG: Karkat shifted so that the shirt would be able to come off easily. As soon as it was off Karkat instantly kissed Rufioh again. Gamzee smiled and got the hoofbeasts moving.  
TA: Rufioh kissed him and then lifted him up and laid him down on the blanket pile, his wings fluttering. Sollux moved so that he could nuzzle and nudge into Gamzee's stomach "Flushed for you"  
CG: Karkat held onto Rufioh as he was laid down and continued to kiss him letting his hand slide down to undo Rufioh's pants and started to get them off of the other. "Flushed for you too." he said shifting so he could kiss his head.  
TA: Rufioh let him take his pants off and he then moved to undress Karkat completely, being careful. Sollux smiled and hummed as he was kissed. "I don’t want to distract you too much"  
CG: Karkat smiled as he let Rufioh undress him. As soon as he was undressed and pulled Rufioh into a deep kiss. "Trust me Solbro you can do anythin ya want and I will still all up and be able to drive as much as I need to."  
TA: Rufioh smiled and kissed back, carefully leaning over him and resting on top of him. Sollux chuckled "Maybe I should put that to the test, if you’re up for it?"  
CG: Karkat wrapped himself around Rufioh and held him close as he kissed back happily. Gamzee grinned at Sollux's words. "Any time Solbro." he said really liking the sound of it.  
TA: Rufioh held him and kissed him softly "You doing okay? ......I'm not too heavy for you?" Sollux smiled and sat up to straddle Gamzee's lap, luckily, he was small enough for Gamzee to see over him easily.  
CG: Karkat gave a small laugh at that. "Are you kidding Crabdad weighed more than you and he has laid on me many times accidentally." he said, and it was true. Gamzee smiled and wrapped an arm around Sollux to make sure that he wouldn’t accidentally fall off.  
TA: Rufioh laughed and kissed him for a little more before pulling back "Karkat...?" Sollux smiled and slipped his hand down Gamzee's pants.  
CG: Karkat kissed back instantly smiling into the kiss. "Hmm?" he asked with a tilt of his head. Gamzee smiled and kissed Sollux as much as he could.  
TA: Rufioh's face was flushed but serious "Karkat, I can't pail you properly.... because of the grub.... you know that, right?" Sollux rubbed at Gamzee's sheath opening to try and get his bulge out, kissing back as he did.  
CG: Karkat gave a small nod. "Yeah I know that." he said and kissed Rufioh's cheek. It didn’t take much for Gamzee's bulge to slide out and wrap around the other's wrist.  
TA: Rufioh nodded and moved to kiss his neck, humming softly. Sollux grinned and rubbed his bulge letting his own bulge slither out.  
CG: Karkat smiled and tilted his head up happily. Gamzee moaned softly as his bulge was rubbed and held onto Sollux a bit more while keeping his eyes on the road.  
TA: Rufioh started to kiss down his body, kissing softly over every scar and cut. Sollux moved his hip forward and curled his bulge tightly around the base of Gamzee's with a gentle moan.  
CG: Karkat's eyes closed and he arched up into some of the kisses. Gamzee moaned at the feeling of Sollux's bulge around his own and let his bulge move to try and curl around Sollux's as well.  
TA: Rufioh kissed down to his hips and started to suck a gentle mark while looking up at him, teasing his sheath opening. Sollux moaned and slowly tightened and loosened his bulge around Gamzee's in a slow rhythm.  
CG: Karkat bit his lips lightly at the feel of Rufioh marking him like he was. He loved it and gave a little gasp as his bulge slid out all at once. Gamzee moaned his head tilting back a little but not so much that he couldn’t see where he was going.  
TA: Rufioh smiled and licked over the mark he made, off all the marks on his body, this was the only one that was made from tender love and affection. He stroked his bulge gently and carefully. Sollux smiled and uncoiled Gamzee’s bulge and scraped his claws along his purple length.  
CG: Karkat smiled happy to have a mark from Rufioh on him. Ever other mark on him was made from hate, punishment, or even on occasion a lustful rage. Karkat gave a soft moan as his bulge was stroked. Gamzee shivered at the feeling of the claws on his bulge something that would have set him off if it were anyone other than Sollux.  
TA: Rufioh kissed to his lower stomach and stroked his bulge close to his mouth "Is this okay......?" Rufioh asked. Sollux smiled and led the tip of his purple bulge into his mouth, bowing his head a bit.  
CG: Karkat nodded instantly. "Yeah....More than okay." he said smiling his hips twitching a bit with each movement of Rufioh's hand. Gamzee moaned and held Sollux a bit tighter.  
TA: Rufioh smiled and held his bulge, licking and kissing at him. Sollux sucked a little bit and let his own bulge rub against Gamzee's, he looked up at him and gazed into his eyes.  
CG: Karkat shifted and then reached down and pulled at Rufioh's horn gently to guide the other back up so he could kiss him. Gamzee smiled down at Sollux. "Your goin to have to do better than that Solbro." he said teasingly.  
TA: Rufioh noticed Karkat wanting him to stop and immediately moved up to him, he kissed his cheek softly. Sollux rolled his eyes and nibbled on his tip a bit before pulling away.  
TA: "Fine, fine"  
CG: Karkat smiled and then instantly kissed Rufioh on the lips. "Flushed for you." he said softly before kissing him again and reaching down to coax Rufioh's bulge out as well. Gamzee smiled and looked down at him giving his nose a quick kiss.  
TA: Rufioh hummed "Flushed for you too" then moaned softly as his sheath was touched, his bulge starting to curl out. Sollux bit his lip and looked around ".... Gamzee, we're on the road"  
CG: Karkat smiled and rubbed at the tip of Rufioh's bulge trying to get it all out faster. Gamzee smirked "So? It’s dark enough and that shirt is long enough to hide most anything that we do."  
TA: Rufioh's bulge slithered out more, starting to wrap around Karkat's hand. Sollux sighed, "The things I do for you" he smiled a little and pushed his mate's bulge to his own nook.  
CG: Karkat smiled when he felt the bulge wrapping around his hand and he gave it a small squeeze. Gamzee smiled and then nipped at Sollux's ear. "Don’t act like you don’t want it as well." he whispered into his ear.  
TA: Rufioh moaned and bucked into Karkat's hand as his bulge was squeezed, the rest squirmed out with a small smile from Rufioh. Sollux blushed a bit and worked his hips down, trying to get it all in as quick as possible so that the shirt could hide their antics.  
CG: Karkat gave a small smile at how Rufioh's bulge came out like it did. He continued to stroke it and kiss Rufioh happily. Gamzee moaned as his bulge slid into the other. Once he felt Sollux take the last of the bulge he smiled and kissed him deeply.  
TA: Rufioh's wings fluttered and he sat up, bringing Karkat onto his lap as he did, he moaned gently and kissed back. Sollux kissed Gamzee and broke away for a moment to huff in some breaths.  
CG: Karkat kissed back and held onto Rufioh as he was lifted up and set in his lap. Gamzee smiled at Sollux and moved his bulge so it hit a sweet spot wanting to hear Sollux.  
TA: Rufioh purred and stroked Karkat's bulge slowly, almost teasingly so, and continued to kiss him. Sollux cried out in a weak moan as his sweet spot was hit, not really expecting it. He took a deep breath and started moving up and down on his lap.  
CG: Karkat let out a small whine at how slow the other's hand was moving and bucked his hips into the hand to try and get more friction. Gamzee smiled and let Sollux move himself happily and moaned with the movement.  
TA: Rufioh smirked and quickly sped up his strokes, kissing his cheek and jaw. Sollux linked his arms over Gamzee's shoulders and buried his face in his chest, then continued to bounce on his lap with small, pleased moans.  
CG: Karkat moaned and moved his hand on Rufioh's bulge more and gave it small squeezes every time his hand got to the base. Gamzee moaned and did his best to hit sweet spot every time Sollux moved his hips down.  
TA: Rufioh loved hearing Karkat moan and when his bulge was squeezed he bit down hard on his own lip. Sollux purred and moaned as his sweet spots were brushed against, Sollux was sure that Gamzee certainly knew where they all were by now.  
CG: Karkat smiled as he saw Rufioh's expression and continued what he was doing just so he knew that Rufioh felt good too. Gamzee smiled as he heard every sound. He definitely did know where every sweet spot was, and he made sure to hit them all.  
TA: Rufioh stroked Karkat's bulge firmly and then when Karkat kept at it the bronze blood grunted a long and uncensored "Fuuuck...." almost immediately covering his own mouth after. Sollux yelped quietly and moved quicker up and down Gamzee's thick bulge, really hoping no one was around to see.  
CG: Karkat laughed a bit when he heard the word. "Let it out Rufioh. I like to hear it." he said and kissed his cheek. He then moved his hand faster and squeezed a bit harder with every time he reached the base. Gamzee smiled and moaned a bit louder than he meant to.

TA: Rufioh blushed, slowly uncovering his mouth while his other hand was busy jerking off Karkat, each time his own bulge was squeezed he let out a breathy cuss and tried to hide how guilty he felt about finally saying it all. Sollux whimpered as Gamzee moaned louder and he slowed down a bit, not wanting anyone to hear.  
CG: Karkat smiled and kissed Rufioh when he heard Rufioh finally gave up on trying to not cuss. Gamzee kissed Sollux and then nipped at his ear. "Don’t slow down Solbro. No one will notice at all."  
TA: Rufioh couldn’t help but think of how disappointed Kankri would be, and he was hit again by another wave of guilt. Its didn’t really stop him though as he kissed Karkat messily "Sh-shit..." he muttered. Sollux nodded and then closed his eyes, still clinging to Gamzee as he sped up again, this time letting more of his bulge out before coming back down again.  
CG: Karkat smiled and moaned as he bucked his hips into the other's hand and moaned. "R-Rufioh, please.... more." he gasped out as he nuzzled into the other male. Gamzee held onto Sollux tightly moaning and doing his best to not jerk the hoofbeasts into going off of the road.  
TA: Rufioh tightened his grip a little around Karkat's bulge and moved his other hand up to rub quickly at Karkat's horns "Holy shit.... You sound so fucking good Karkat" he whispered close. Sollux held onto Gamzee with one hand and used the other to stroke his own squirming bulge while clenching around Gamzee.  
CG: Karkat moaned out loudly and leaned into the hand on his horn. His face flushed brightly at Rufioh's words and then nuzzled into him. Gamzee moaned loudly and let out a small curse. "Fuck Sol I’m getting close."  
TA: Rufioh moaned after hearing Karkat and rubbed at both his mate's horn and bulge, desperate to make him feel as good as he was himself. Sollux barely managed a nod before he came over Gamzee with a muffled moan as he bit down on his shoulder in the same place he had before. "S-sorry" he said shakily after.  
CG: Karkat moaned and bit his lip hard enough that there were a few drops of blood on it. He was starting to really get close and gave a whine trying to tell Rufioh that, but his voice didn’t seem to want to work. Gamzee gasped and then came a second after and held Sollux close to himself as he came.  
TA: Rufioh smiled and could feel by holding Karkat's bulge how close he was, he leaned in close to his ear and rubbed his thumb over the very tip of the red bulge, "Are you gonna come for me, my boy?" he smirked. Sollux gripped onto him as he was filled, holding his breath and trying not to moan.  
CG: Karkat gave a small nod giving another moan his voice still not working like he should be. But then again, he never really had anyone other than Rufioh be gentle with him at all. Gamzee held Sollux close and panted when he finished and then nuzzled into him.  
TA: Rufioh kissed him deeply and lovingly, making quick movements around his bulge and purring into the kiss. Sollux nuzzled back "The hoofbeasts...?" he asked in a pant.  
CG: Karkat kissed back instantly before pulling back and crying out in pure pleasure as he came his back arching a little. Gamzee smiled and kissed his cheek. "Walking just like they are supposed to be."  
TA: Rufioh held Karkat close and stroked him as he came, kissing his cheek "That’s it...." "Good" Sollux nodded and sat up, moving to the side and opening his legs in an indication for Gamzee to pull out.  
CG: Karkat panted and leaned against Rufioh for a few seconds before he started to move his hand again. Gamzee smiled and pulled his bulge out and let it slip back into its sheathe.  
TA: Rufioh moaned softly and his bulge throbbed in Karkat’s hand. Sollux made a small noise as it did and then let his own bulge curl in. He pulled Gamzee's pants up and sat on his lap again, curled up to his chest "Can I clean up later?"  
CG: Karkat smiled and kissed Rufioh gently as he started to move his hand faster than before. Gamzee held onto Sollux when he curled up against his chest and then nodded. "Of course, you can Solbro. As soon as we stop again I will find you a place to do that."  
TA: Rufioh kissed back desperately  
TA: Rufioh kissed back desperately and pulled away from the kiss for a moment and moaned deeply as he came. "F-Fuck..." Sollux nodded and nuzzled against him.  
CG: Karkat smiled loving the other's reaction. He nuzzled into him and kept his hand moving slowly until he was sure that every drop of genetic material was out. Gamzee smiled and kissed the top of his head and continued to drive happily.  
TA: Rufioh moaned and panted as he came and once he was done he leaned his head on Karkat's shoulder. Sollux purred and buried his nose in the scent of Gamzee from both his shirt and his skin, smiling softly.  
CG: Karkat smiled and pulled his hand away from the other's bulge slowly before reaching up with his clean hand and playing with his hair. "Flushed for you." he said softly and happily. Gamzee rubbed Sollux's back a little content to let him rest for as long as he wanted to.  
TA: Rufioh purred and held Karkat close "Flushed for you too" he smiled warmly and kissed his cheek. Sollux chuckled a little as he could hear the other two from the other side of the wood "I guess we aren’t the only ones having fun today then"  
CG: Karkat nuzzled into him happily. It was nice to be able to spend time like this with Rufioh and it almost allowed him to forget about everything that was happening. Gamzee laughed a bit. "I agree, and I think that they might have started it all before us." he said since he had been hearing the two in the back for a while.  
TA: Rufioh rocked him gently and moved to kiss him, he was more than glad that Karkat felt safe and was comfortable around him like it was when they were young. Sollux laughed "As long as he's treating KK well and being gentle with him then I guess I'm alright with it"  
CG: Karkat purred as he was rocked and then kissed back as soon as he felt the other's lips. He wished that things could be this peaceful always, but he knew that wasn’t a fact of life for any troll, not even highbloods. Gamzee chuckled. "And what do you think he would say if he found out how cut up the two of us get every time we do it?"  
TA: Rufioh kissed Karkat softly and stroked his hair, savouring the sweet moments with him. Sollux smirked "KK would probably yell at me and tell me off, and then he'd probably do worse to you" Sollux said with a smile looking up at Gamzee.  
CG: Karkat purred louder and held Rufioh close to himself before he gave a little shiver. Though he was good with the cold being completely naked in a fairly drafty cart was a bit much, so he shifted a little and grabbed a blanket and pulled it, so he could wrap it around both himself and Rufioh. Gamzee chuckled at that. "I can only imagine that he would do some of the things that he has threatened when we were first meeting each other." he said  
TA: Rufioh helped wrap Karkat in the blankets and then held him close to keep him warm, he stroked his back and nuzzled into him "You're going to be okay" he said softly. Sollux chuckled "Yeah, it’s good to know he'd stick up for me but, I don’t really like the idea of having to keep the peace between you both. Can't exactly choose a favourite quadrant" he said with a small laugh.  
CG: Karkat smiled and nuzzled into Rufioh. "It’s easy to believe that when you say it Rufioh." he said honestly. He was quickly warming up again, so he was able to relax more which was nice. Gamzee rolled his eyes a bit "You don’t have to keep the peace between us Solbro. Most of his threats towards me are empty because he knows how much you are flushed for me and how much I am flushed for you so mainly the threats and what not are to keep me in check I guess."  
TA: "I'll do everything I can to make sure you're okay again...." Rufioh said quietly and kissed Karkat's cheek, he groaned a little as his bulge slipped back into its sheath. Sollux chuckled "You don’t really need keeping in check, not around me anyways" he bit his lip and smiled.  
CG: Karkat smiled and moved to kiss him back, truly believing that if anyone would be able to do that it would be Rufioh. He smiled a bit and shifted slightly to allow his own bulge to retract back into its sheathe as well. Gamzee smiled. "Exactly he said and then kissed the other fully reaching a hand up to rub in between Sollux's horns.  
TA: Rufioh hummed in Karkat's ear and kept rocking him, keeping him close and safe in the blanket bundle. Sollux moaned into the kiss as his weak spot was pleased and he nuzzled into the hand gratefully.


	20. Authors Note

Hi there, I've decided not to post anymore chapters here until I've fixed the chapters before, going right the way back to chapter 1 of Amicitia. So that could take a while. 

I'm not going to go through the sob stories or excuses, but basically, we've been writing this for years, and what you're reading for the past chapters were written in the end of 2015, and we are still writing because we LOVE it. However, we want this fic to be good to read, and of a higher quality than when we wrote it 4+ years ago. So I'll be re-editing everything, making it better, changing small details but keeping the plot and the large amount of the dialogue. Reading things I wrote when I was a lot younger is strange, (Sollux was so soft!!), but I hope that I can fix this thing to make it as special as it felt when we first wrote it. 

It won't be look long a hiatus I hope, but I'll mark each chapter after I've fixed them, then when I'm done, new chapters will return. 

Thanks!   
\- Atlas (TA)


End file.
